The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) recently announced $8.5 million would be split between 23 projects under the Transportation Alternatives (TA) program for 2020.
The 23 projects in question were chosen from 46 potentials, for everything from a trail in Osage City, Kansas to accessible walkways in Minneola, Kansas, and Safe Routes to School for a variety of cities. Pedestrian and bicycle walkways, scenic and historical highway programs, landscaping, preservation, conservation of abandoned railways, removal of outdoor advertising, archeological planning and similar measures were all eligible.
“We were happy to see so many quality applications from across the state this year,” Matt Messina, coordinator of the Transportation Alternatives program, said. “This proves how popular the TA program is and how important these types of projects are to Kansas communities. The main goals of the TA program are to help provide communities with more transportation options and to preserve or improve what they already have, and that’s what these projects will do.”
Selection criteria included input from internal and external sources regarding safety and network improvements, cost estimates, project readiness, public support, and geographic factors. The state is not putting up all the funds for these projects. Those selected have to provide at least 20 percent of the cost as a cash match and remain fully responsible for non-participating items.