Kansas Highway Patrol presents Salina campus needs assessment, seeks $51.7 million for initial phases

Merle Bridal, executive officer of the Kansas Highway Patrol, told the Joint Committee on State Building Construction that a facility needs assessment required by House Bill 2551 (2024) found the Salina campus is aging, undersized and presents life‑safety and operational concerns. Consultants from Clark Enersen Design and Dewberry recommended a partial consolidation of KHP functions to a new campus (their "Option 2") with a preliminary cost estimate of about $416.6 million; the patrol is requesting up to $51.7 million in state general funds for initial phases.

The assessment, conducted after interviews, site tours and room‑by‑room programming, concluded the agency’s existing Salina campus and three other Salina‑area sites total about 188,000 square feet but that the Kansas Highway Patrol’s 25‑year projected need is roughly 375,000 square feet and could require between about 60 and 187 acres depending on the option selected. Consultants identified urgent needs including an undersized and non‑storm‑proof dispatch center, outdated dormitories that do not meet current ADA expectations, insufficient training classroom technology, inadequate storage across troops, and a driving course that is about 1 mile long while the programmatic need is a minimum 3‑mile course.

Why this matters: the report says the dispatch facility presents the most immediate life‑safety and continuity‑of‑operations concern because it is in a building that was not designed as a dispatch center and would be taken off‑line by certain storm events. Consolidating many functions on a new or…