County outlines CIP updates, prioritizes bridge replacements and County Route 30 project

Leavenworth County commissioners received an update on the county’s capital improvement plan (CIP) focused on roads, bridges and culverts, with staff urging continued emphasis on a backlog of structurally deficient bridges and on a multi‑phase County Route 30 project intended to create a north–south paved corridor on the county’s west side.

Public works staff described a long‑running shortfall in bridge replacement funding and outlined a triage approach that prioritizes structures by condition, detour impact and traffic. Staff said 24 bridges were identified that need to be moved into the CIP and that 47 structures exceed the 20‑foot length threshold that triggers biannual bridge inspections. Staff also said the county’s culvert inventory includes tens of thousands of small driveway culverts and several hundred larger box culverts; the county completed an initial round of culvert inspections and replaced 14 culverts with ARPA funds, a program staff said cost “in excess of, $4,500,000.”

Bill (public works staff) walked commissioners through current-year carryover projects, grant activity and the constraints on design, right‑of‑way acquisition and construction timing. On County Route 30 — a major sales‑tax funded project that aims to connect north and south county roadways — staff said the project has federal earmark support for an initial phase ($2,000,000) and a Kansas cost‑share award ($975,000). Staff estimated the phase planned for 2026 at $6.8 million and said a later phase submitted as an earmark request could add roughly $4 million; a commissioner observed the total program could amount to about $14 million if all phases are included.

Sales tax and other funding sources were a focus of the discussion. Staff explained the county’s 1% special sales tax (enacted in 2017) funds road projects and that cities receive a share of those collections; staff said the county receives roughly 45% of the total sales tax collections after statutory distributions to cities. Staff also told the board that the county used ARPA funds to accelerate culvert and bridge work and that the board increased the levy for the road and bridge fund in recent years as part of efforts to close the maintenance funding gap.

Commissioners pressed staff on tradeoffs between contractor work and county crews, whether to add staff to manage more concurrent projects, and geographic equity in paving. Commissioners noted that much of recent paving activity was concentrated in the county’s southern townships and discussed ways to address northern townships’ backlog. Staff said dust‑abatement and participatory paving programs remain in place (property owners pay the majority and the county subsidizes a portion), and that county crews can complete some short dust‑abatement stretches at lower cost than contractors but that crew capacity and weather windows limit how much can be done this season.

Staff also reviewed the time required to deliver larger projects: design, acquisition, utility relocation and permitting typically extend over multiple years before construction can begin; the board and staff noted that replacing bridges can be a three‑year process if the county must start environmental and right‑of‑way work after an unexpected failure.

Ending: Commissioners did not adopt a final CIP in the meeting; staff said grant applications were ongoing and that the board will continue to refine priorities and funding allocations before a later vote.