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Osage County commissioners authorize chair to sign letter of support for federal bridge grant application
Summary
After a presentation on a federal Bridge Improvement Program NOFO and an updated project plan that pairs Osage County with Franklin County, commissioners voted to authorize the chair to sign the maintenance‑commitment and letter of support needed for the application; staff said the team is targeting a June 29 submission and estimated total project costs around $30 million.
The Osage County commissioners voted to authorize the chair to sign a maintenance‑commitment and letter of support for a federal Bridge Improvement Program (BIP) grant application after hearing a presentation on the revised project plan.
An unnamed county presenter told commissioners the federal NOFO issued June 2 introduced new criteria requiring cost‑benefit analyses for each bridge, which made a previously planned multi‑jurisdiction application with Chase County ineligible. "We had to pivot and work with Franklin County and pull this project together," the presenter said, and described the application as now covering four Osage County bridges and two Franklin County bridges. She asked that the chairman be allowed to sign the letter of maintenance commitment and letter of support attached to the application.
The presenter outlined the funding picture: she said the total project cost is anticipated to be about $30 million; if awarded, the Federal Highway Administration match responsibility was described as roughly $24 million, the Kansas Infrastructure Hub would contribute $5 million, and Osage County's share would be $4 million. She also said the county previously received a $27,000 award from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub to offset grant writing and that a separate $9 million match award had expired before the new NOFO; staff said they would reapply for available match funding under the new $5 million maximum match rule. The presenter told commissioners the team planned to submit the application by June 29.
Ryan Fine, identified in the presentation as the presenter’s partner who prepared cost‑benefit analyses, described the heavy data work required: "We crunched it down from original because we had so many bridges...I went through it and did my best analysis," he said, noting that the team used recent engineering reports and visual assessments where traffic counts were not available.
A commissioner moved to authorize the chair to sign the maintenance‑commitment and letter of support; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. The presenter thanked staff and the county’s grant writer for their efforts as the application window approaches.
Why it matters: the BIP grant targets structurally deficient bridges and can fund replacement or rehabilitation projects that would otherwise require substantial local capital. County staff said several bridges in Osage County were in the poor condition category and that securing federal funds would tie into a planned local bridge bond to cover county matching costs. The commissioners did not set a further local funding commitment beyond confirming the county’s planned bond match and authorizing the chair to sign the support letter.
Next steps: staff said they would finalize the grant submission by the stated NOFO deadline and pursue additional match funding opportunities with the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and legislative partners.
