Kansas officials are touting the benefits of a new transportation program they said enhances project selection efforts while also providing more community resources.
Gov. Laura Kelly recently joined Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Julie Lorenz in unveiling FORWARD in conjunction with Transportation Day activities at the State Capitol.
“Key features of FORWARD include a flexible, responsive rolling program where major projects are selected every two years rather than once a decade,” Kelly said. “FORWARD also calls for completion of delayed T-WORKS projects; transit, aviation, rail, bike and pedestrian solutions that solve problems in rural and urban Kansas; and more partnerships with local communities to increase both local matches and the number of improvements we can make.”
The initiative would provide more resources to communities through such endeavors as the Cost-Share, Local Bridge Improvement, and Strategic Safety programs to aid in addressing residents’ demand for transportation investments.
“Most importantly, FORWARD will provide better service through helping communities solve more transportation problems by utilizing all of KDOT’s resources,” Lorenz said.
The FORWARD program is a plan for Kansas residents, developed in consultation with public outreach and comment, that works for the whole state.
“Kansans are ready to build a better transportation system for themselves and for future generations,” Lorenz said. “With FORWARD, KDOT will be ready to deliver.”