A second series of Local Consult meetings hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation will give citizens a chance to discuss regional transportation priorities and continue shaping FORWARD, the state’s next 10-year transportation program. 

Central Region will meet from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, at the Great Bend Events Center, 3111 10th Street in Great Bend.

“Kansans are ready for the next transportation program to improve safety and grow our economy,” Secretary of Transportation Julie Lorenz said. “We heard from more than 1,100 Kansans across the State who talked about the importance of completing T-WORKS projects, improving highways and making transit, aviation and rail work better. Now, as promised, we are coming back out for a second round of meetings to discuss specific transportation priorities in each region.” 

All meetings will include an opening presentation and use facilitated breakout groups to:

• Discuss transportation assets and needs at a regional level and gather feedback on priorities among KDOT’s various programs.

• Share draft engineering and economic scores for highway modernization and expansion projects and gather feedback on those scores.

• Discuss which highway modernization and expansion projects are regional priorities. 

The meetings all will have a similar format, but the content will be specific to the region. KDOT encourages people to attend the meeting within the KDOT district where their community is located. 

Other local consult meetings are scheduled to take place in October and November in Pittsburg, Junction City, Topeka, Kansas City, Wichita, Liberal and Colby. 

For more information, contact Mike Moriarty, KDOT chief of transportation planning, at 785-296-8864 or Michael.Moriarty@ks.gov.