FORT SCOTT, Kan. – The State of Kansas selects 34 cities to receive a total of $28.65 million for local highway improvements.
Governor Laura Kelley announced the funding today. It’s through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s “City Connecting Link Improvement Program.” Cities will use the funds to do the following in both rural and urban areas:
- preserve and improve pavement
- add turn lanes
- modify intersections along essential roadways
“By making this investment, we’re improving the safety and accessibility of Kansas roadways that are local centers of community life,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Through these grants, we’re delivering economic opportunities throughout rural and urban Kansas.”
Governor Kelly and Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz announced the CCLIP awards in Fort Scott, where $1.5 million in CCLIP funds will be directed to improvements on U.S. 54, also known as Wall Street.
“KDOT was able to increase CCLIP funding level for this selection cycle by more than $10 million over previous years due to additional federal funds coming to Kansas as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL). Both federal and state funds are designated for the CCLIP program and local matching funds are required based on city population,” states Gov. Kelly’s Office.
“With the Connecting Link program, KDOT partners with communities to find solutions to support local transportation priorities,” Transportation Secretary Lorenz said. “I very much appreciate the power of the state and communities pooling funds to make improvements.”
A City Connecting Link is defined as any routing of the State Highway System located within the corporate limits of a city, not including the Interstate System. For this CCLIP cycle applying to state fiscal years 2024-2025, KDOT received 54 applications requesting $38 million.