TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly and Kansas Department of Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed announced that 31 local bridge projects across Kansas will receive a combined total of $40.5 million in state and federal funding as part of two local bridge improvement programs. Combined with matching funds from the awarded cities and counties, the total project value is nearly $44.5 million.

KDOT will award about $20 million through the Kansas Local Bridge Improvement Program (KLBIP) in State Fiscal Year 2027. The funds will go to 15 bridge replacement projects, and an additional four deficient bridges will be permanently removed from local systems. The KLBIP, established in 2015, provides funds to local public authorities for the replacement or rehabilitation of deficient city and county-owned bridges. The program also allows cities and counties to be awarded additional funds for the removal of deficient bridges.

In addition, KDOT will award $20.5 million through the Off-System Bridge program (OSB) in Federal Fiscal Year 2028 to fund 16 projects across the state. The OSB program was established to comply with federal requirements to use a specific portion of federal funds for bridges not on the federal-aid system. The funding is a combination of federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funds, Bridge Program Funds, and state funds.

By reshaping the local bridge programs, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) more than doubled its annual funding as part of the existing Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE).

There are more than 19,000 bridges on local road systems across Kansas, and over 5,000 of those bridges need updates to meet today’s standards. The OSB and KLBIP programs are used for city and county bridges in need of replacement or repair that are not on the state highway system. Funds for both programs are awarded through an application process and, in most cases, require a local contribution. KDOT uses selection criteria that consider items such as bridge condition, detour length, inability to carry legal loads, and past project history.

For this application cycle of the local bridge programs, KDOT received a combined total of 182 applications requesting $222 million.

Local awardees and total funds awarded are: Rush County, 1.0N 4.9E of McCracken, local cost - $70,982, KDOT match funds - $750,000, total funds awarded - $750,000; Rice County, Ave. W over Cow Creek, 0.5 miles and S 8.9 miles E of Sterling,