$186 million highway projects added to IKE Development Plan

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Governor Laura Kelly announced three highway projects in northeast Kansas, totaling $186 million, have been added to the IKE Development Pipeline.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) shared in a news release of Kelly's decision to add these projects to the IKE Development Pipeline. Preliminary engineering work can now start on the northeast Kansas projects.

“The successful community efforts to raise awareness of transportation needs along the U.S. 75 corridor in northeast Kansas makes us all proud,” Kansas Senator Dennis Pyle said. “The addition of this expansion project to the IKE Development Pipeline is an important step toward enhancing the safety of a vital corridor for commerce and the traveling public it serves.”

“Thanks to Senator Dennis Pyle’s consistent championing of the U.S. 75 expansion project, we are one step closer to making this much-needed improvement possible,” Kelly said. “That project and the others announced today tackle long-standing transportation needs across the state – improving safety, expanding economic development opportunities, and strengthening our communities.”

The most expensive of the three northeast Kansas projects is expanding U.S. 75 from Holton north to K-20 in Jackson County to a four-lane expressway. This expansion project is estimated to cost $126 million. This stretch of road has seen many fatalities over the years. In 2017, a head-on collision killed three and seriously injured one. In 2018, 16-year-old Garret Klahr was killed in a crash, after failing to stop at a stop sign. A motorcyclist died in 2022 after losing control while passing vehicles.

Information for two other northeast Kansas Development Pipeline projects are below:

• I-35/U.S. 56 interchange modernization project in Johnson County - $25 million
• K-5 modernization projects, reconstruct K-5 on new alignment from U.S. 73 southeast to I-435 in Wyandotte/Leavenworth counties - $35 million.

Kelly and KDOT Secretary Calvin Reed announced the 2024 Development Pipeline projects at the Kansas Statehouse Thursday, according to the news release. There are 17 projects across Kansas listed totaling $932 million.

To see a map of the 2024 Development Pipeline projects, click here.

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