Russell Springs could lose its highway By MIKE CORN RUSSELL SPRINGS - Logan County and the Kansas Department of Transportation are exploring the possibility of moving Kansas Highway 25 so that it bypasses Russell Springs. But it was a county-driven idea, according to Chriss McDiffett, KDOT's district engineer in Norton. " We are not proposing this or anything," McDiffett said of changing the highway and bypassing Russell Springs. "Like I said, the county commission approached us." The idea came about when the Logan County Commission approached KDOT about what to do with trucks coming out of Leoti and head straight north on a county road - rather than following K-25 to the east and then back north through Russell Springs and eventually meeting up with U.S. Highway 40. " A lot of 18-wheelers will use the cutoff rather than use the highway," McDiffett said. "They wondered if we'd be interested in taking over the county road." If that happened, he said, the state would have to bring the 7 or 8 miles of county road up to state standards - a process that would take anywhere from $10 to $12 million. " There's a big bridge that would have to be replaced," McDiffett said, referring to a bridge over the Smoky Hill River. Logan County Commissioner Nick Scott said the cutoff is used when the weather is nice. It's not a quick issue. "You're looking 10 years if that ever happens," Scott said of the road being taken over. "It's a situation we talking to KDOT about. If it takes effect it will be eight to 10 years." Another problem, however, is the state is limited on the number of miles that it can have in its road system. In fact, he said, the state is looking to divest some miles of road rather than add to the inventory. " I said it would probably help the situation if they would take part of K-25," McDiffett said. That would then make K-25 run straight south from McAllister - about 30 miles west of Oakley and 11 miles southwest of the existing turnoff - all the way to Leoti. The new county road would then follow the existing K-25 over its existing route until it meets up with the intersection. Today, K-25 covers about 20 miles, at least in the area before it meets up with the problem intersection. The new route would meet up with U.S. 40 about 8 miles north. That might work in its favor, McDiffett said because it could take miles off the state road system. But it would have to pass muster of officials in Topeka as well as gain support in Logan County. " I said I'm sure there would be a lot of concern about taking that off the system," McDiffett said. "I said we're not going to advocate it." Besides, he said, the money wouldn't be there before 2009 - if then. Currently, the state has targeted programs through then, and that is when the current highway program is set to expire. After that, said public affairs manager Kristen Brands, most of the work will be for maintenance. And KDOT isn't fond of leaving a spur that leads only to a community, which could leave Russell Springs without a highway. " As far as we're concerned, we're happy the way it is," he said. RUSSELL SPRINGS - Logan County and the Kansas Department of Transportation are exploring the possibility of moving Kansas Highway 25 so that it bypasses Russell Springs. But it was a county-driven idea, according to Chriss McDiffett, KDOT's district engineer in Norton. " We are not proposing this or anything," McDiffett said of changing the highway and bypassing Russell Springs. "Like I said, the county commission approached us." The idea came about when the Logan County Commission approached KDOT about what to do with trucks coming out of Leoti and head straight north on a county road - rather than following K-25 to the east and then back north through Russell Springs and eventually meeting up with U.S. Highway 40. " A lot of 18-wheelers will use the cutoff rather than use the highway," McDiffett said. "They wondered if we'd be interested in taking over the county road." If that happened, he said, the state would have to bring the 7 or 8 miles of county road up to state standards - a process that would take anywhere from $10 to $12 million. " There's a big bridge that would have to be replaced," McDiffett said, referring to a bridge over the Smoky Hill River. Logan County Commissioner Nick Scott said the cutoff is used when the weather is nice. It's not a quick issue. "You're looking 10 years if that ever happens," Scott said of the road being taken over. "It's a situation we talking to KDOT about. If it takes effect it will be eight to 10 years." Another problem, however, is the state is limited on the number of miles that it can have in its road system. In fact, he said, the state is looking to divest some miles of road rather than add to the inventory. " I said it would probably help the situation if they would take part of K-25," McDiffett said. That would then make K-25 run straight south from McAllister - about 30 miles west of Oakley and 11 miles southwest of the existing turnoff - all the way to Leoti. The new county road would then follow the existing K-25 over its existing route until it meets up with the intersection. Today, K-25 covers about 20 miles, at least in the area before it meets up with the problem intersection. The new route would meet up with U.S. 40 about 8 miles north. That might work in its favor, McDiffett said because it could take miles off the state road system. But it would have to pass muster of officials in Topeka as well as gain support in Logan County. " I said I'm sure there would be a lot of concern about taking that off the system," McDiffett said. "I said we're not going to advocate it." Besides, he said, the money wouldn't be there before 2009 - if then. Currently, the state has targeted programs through then, and that is when the current highway program is set to expire. After that, said public affairs manager Kristen Brands, most of the work will be for maintenance. And KDOT isn't fond of leaving a spur that leads only to a community, which could leave Russell Springs without a highway. " As far as we're concerned, we're happy the way it is," he said. |