Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force – Kansas City meeting

Approximately 125 people gathered in Kansas City for the second Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force yesterday, including legislators, industry leaders, local government representatives, and stakeholder advocates.

Kansas is Beachfront Property – Since the beginning of T-WORKS, we’ve emphasized the importance of our state’s central location as a natural advantage in logistics markets. Within one day and 5 miles of the task force meeting, Overstock.com announced it is filling a distribution center in the Turner district and will employee 100 people. Our geographic advantage is vital for business, as more and more companies move distribution centers to Kansas, and transportation infrastructure will be a key component of future economic development.   

Business supports transportation investments – Joe Reardon, CEO, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce addressed the Task Force on behalf of businesses in Kansas City, telling the Task Force nothing affects economic opportunity and quality of life more than transportation.  His briefing emphasized the vital role transportation plays in the state and regional economy and he told the Task Force the Kansas City business community supports funding for transportation.

Opportunities and Impacts. KDOT presented information on demographic and economic trends along with information on aviation, transit and bike/pedestrian modes. Even as Kansas becomes more urban, rural residents depend on quality transportation options to access specialized and urgent care that may be miles from their homes. As the state’s population continues to age and technology like automated and connected vehicles continues to develop, how to adapt the state’s infrastructure and programs must be considered. Whether it’s a potential increase in demand for transit, the need for improved signs and pavement markings or new revenue sources, our transportation system and programs will need to adapt in the future.

Local Testimony Highlights Importance of Transportation Options. The Task Force heard about many ways that transportation is important to Kansans:  regional transit agencies help Kansans get to work on time and to medical appointments, a private citizen talked about the importance of improving the safety of an intersection to reduce traffic collisions, and bike and pedestrian advocates outlined the need for additional funding to increase safety and infrastructure availability for a mode that is seeing increased use around the state. Other stakeholders shared the importance of improving transportation infrastructure to drive economic growth.

The next meeting will be at Pittsburg State University on Sept. 20. Topics include projected transportation needs and funding and financing approaches in Kansas. The Task Force will also look at system conditions and the approach to funding and finance in other states.

The public is encouraged to attend a meeting and provide public testimony about why transportation is important to you, what’s working well and what could be improved.

Future meetings will discuss transportation modes in more detail:

• Freight / freight rail / passenger rail – Newton, Oct. 4 from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
• Aviation / transit / and bike/pedestrian – Wichita, Oct. 18 from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m.

Presentations from the meeting, information about future meetings, and instructions for providing testimony can be found on the Kansas Legislature website.  

Called to action: When crashes occur KDOT crews play an important role

I-35 closed for 19 hours: A semitrailer crashed into a median and caught fire on northbound I-35 near Mission Road just after midnight on Feb. 1. Lamar Highway Maintenance Supervisor Rick Looper was the first KDOT employee on the scene to assist in closing both north and south I-35 traffic.

KDOT crews remove a semitrailer from I-35 on February 1. The vehicle crashed near Mission Road in Kansas City, which prompted officials to close parts of the highway for 19 hours. 

The closure distance around the crash site changed at times due to toxic fumes from the fire and cargo, Looper said, but it was necessary to keep portions of I-35 closed for about 19 hours. Four KDOT Equipment Operators, three impact attenuators and a truck with a message board helped direct traffic.

Haz-Mat crews work to clean and clear the scene after a semitrailer crashed on I-35. The vehicle crashed near Mission Road in Kansas City, which prompted officials to close parts of the high for 19 hours.

“Our responsibility is to close the highway down to keep the traveling public away from the danger of the fire and accident scene,” he said. “We also provide a safe working environment for the fire department, local police, KHP, haz-mat crew, clean-up crew and tow trucks and protect the scene for investigative purposes.” 

Closing highways is always a challenge, Looper said. “We have many locations with ramps and interchanges that can get congested real fast with traffic backups,” he said. “Closing a major highway is not always popular with the traveling public, but we do this for safety reasons. We want to be in and out as quickly as possible with little to no impact to traffic, but that does not always happen as with this crash involving hazardous materials.”

It’s important to know how, when and where to deploy KDOT employees to be safe and effective in situations like the Feb. 1 crash. “We have to be quick in responding and quick in closing a highway,” Looper said. “We put our lives on the line each and every day that we step out on the highway. My safety and the safety for my crew comes first while planning out my road closure.”

Westbound portion of Lewis and Clark Viaduct to be replaced

The photo above shows an overall view of the Lewis and Clark Viaduct looking west in to Kansas. 

A project to replace one of the bridges in the Lewis and Clark Viaduct was one of the projects included in the November KDOT Construction letting. This project is to replace the I-70 westbound bridge that spans the Kansas River and is nearing the end of its service life. Removal of the old bridge will begin in February.

The new bridge will be 2,980 feet long, have 20 new spans and 18 new piers. One of the new piers will be in the Kansas River. The new bridge will also contain more than 21,000 cubic yards of concrete and 3,100,000 pounds of reinforcing steel (excluding the drilled shafts and prestressed concrete beams). The bridge will contain more than 55,000 feet of steel pile and 2,100 feet of drilled shafts (72 inches in diameter).

American Bridge Company of Coraopolis, Pa., is the prime contractor on the approximately $65 million project. It is scheduled to be complete in December 2019. Debbie Tanking’s road squad and Mark Hurt’s bridge squad designed the project. 

To see all the projects in the November letting, click here.

Traffic Incident Manager saves countless lives through training of first responders

Rusty James, right, received recognition from ITS Heartland earlier this year for his dedicated work training thousands of emergency repsonders with the TIM program in the KC metro area. 

Traffic Incident Response Week, Nov. 13 – 19, was created to raise awareness of the dangers emergency responders are exposed to when they work at a traffic incident.

Rusty James, provides training to law enforcement officials,
emergency responders, and highway workers

Training emergency responders across the nation using the Federal Highway Administration’s Traffic Incident Management (TIM) program creates a coordinated response to clear traffic incidents efficiently with less risk to emergency responders, those involved in crashes and drivers that pass through an incident area.

As part of the Kansas City Scout traffic management center, TIM has been used in the KC metro area for many years. The manager of this effort until recently was Rusty James.

In May, Rusty was recognized by ITS Heartland, a five-state intelligent transportation systems organization, with its President’s Award in appreciation for his dedicated work training thousands of emergency responders.

There is no way to count the number of lives Rusty James saved over his many years of training law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, tow operators, DOT maintenance workers and other first responders. But there is no doubt the he is responsible for many people going home after an incident because of the training he provided. Thank you Rusty!

July KDOT letting set to repair and upgrade a variety of projects

A dynamic message informs drivers about expected travel times to various streets in Johnson County.

Several milling, overlay, lighting and bridge repair projects are part of KDOT’s July letting that was recently approved.

Also included is a project to upgrade eight trusses for Dynamic Message Signs for Kansas City Scout throughout the metro area. Capital Electric Line Builders Inc. of Riverside, Mo., is the prime contractor on the $1.02 million project.

To see all of the projects approved in the July KDOT letting, click here.