Commission approves start of 1095 Road proposal

MOUND CITY – Linn County Economic Development Director Jessica Hightower met with the Linn County Commission on Monday, Jan. 9, to discuss applying for a Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) High Risk Rural Road (HRRR) grant.

Hightower explained that this came as a result of the Local Road Safety Plan done by KDOT. This grant is designed to take roads out of the Local Road Safety Plan report and use KDOT funding to complete the suggested improvements.

The study showed that on a 0 to 24 risk assessment, two roads in Linn County were rated 20 but they were not major collector roads. The road she is requesting to write the grant for is a 5.6-mile section of County Road 1095 from 1650 Road to 152 Highway, which rated 19 and is a major collector road. Higher points will be given to projects that are major collector roads.

Hightower told the commissioners that this grant would be for fiscal year 2025 so it would be a couple of years before the county would begin that project.

In the grant, the county would cover 100 percent of the preliminary engineering, the right of way and any utility relocations. The county would be responsible for 10 percent of construction and construction engineering costs, and KDOT would be responsible for the other 90 percent.

She showed the commissioners the request for proposal (RFP) that she had drafted. The RFP is required to be turned in with the grant.

Hightower told the commissioners that she had the RFP broken out for separate costs for preliminary engineering, right of way, utility relocations and construction.

She explained that the grant was due the middle of February so the RFP is due Jan. 31 for this project.

County Counselor Gary Thompson clarified that the county would not do the preliminary engineering until the grant was approved.

Hightower read the objectives that KDOT said that they would like to see completed on this portion of that road. They are adding retro reflective center lines, and curve warning signs.

She pointed out that the county was not redoing the road, they were trying to make the road more safe as it is in the short term. In the long term, KDOT would like to see paving the shoulder and installing guardrails.

The commissioners approved Hightower publishing the RFP on the project.