Dickinson County to join federal peer exchange on roadway departures; wins High Risk Rural Road grant for 1-mile project

Dickinson County officials told commissioners on Jan. 23 that the county will participate in a Federal Highway Administration peer exchange focused on reducing roadway departures and that the county recently was awarded a High Risk Rural Road (HRRR) Program grant for improvements to a one-mile stretch of 1400 Avenue.

County administrators said the FHWA-sponsored peer exchange — which includes Leavenworth County, Dickinson County and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation along with representatives from several states — will examine systematic approaches to roadway safety, safety action plans and countermeasures. The county highlighted local countermeasures that helped prompt the invitation: 6-inch white centerline striping, shoulder widening and intersection improvements, clearing of roadside vegetation, and flashing stop signs. Federal organizers will pay expenses for the peer exchange, county staff said.

Separately, staff briefed the commission on a HRRR grant the county received to improve roughly one mile of 1400 Avenue between Jeep and Key Road. The county described the site as having deep ditches and no shoulders, and staff called the grant highly competitive. The awarded HRRR project is expected to be about a $1 million grant for improvements along that mile, according to staff remarks.

Commissioners said the peer exchange and HRRR award give the county a platform to share its countermeasures and to seek additional federal funding for rural road safety projects. The discussion was informational; no formal vote was required.