U.S. 75 expansion north of Holton deemed a high priority by KDOT

Expanding a portion of U.S. Highway 75 north of Holton to four lanes has been deemed a “high priority” project by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), it has been reported.

Preliminary engineering work is set to begin on creating a four-lane expressway north of Holton to Kansas Highway 20, the Jackson County Commissioners reported at their meeting on Monday.

The 14-mile proposed project, which is estimated to cost the state $126 million, is one of several projects that was selected for the “development pipeline” as part of the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE), the county commissioners said. 

KDOT held nine meetings last fall (eight in person and one virtual) as part of the IKE local consult process, it was reported, and the Jackson County Commissioners attended some of those meetings to express their desire to have U.S. 75 expanded.

“This is huge. I don’t believe that this would have happened without us pushing the issue at these KDOT consult meetings,” Commissioner Keith Kelly said. “It’s been mentioned to us that dealing in state issues isn’t our job, but we believe that if we can advocate for something like this, then it’s definitely our job to do it.” 

KDOT has divided the state into six districts, and Jackson County is in District 1.

According to the local consult summary report, building a four-lane expressway on U.S. 75 north of Holton to K-20 was identified as a high priority for District 1 during the breakout sessions at almost all of the meetings.

During the virtual meeting, it was listed as the highest priority project for the district due to crash concerns, economic growth, a preference for four lanes and the highway’s proximity to schools.

The four-lane expansion was selected to move through the “development pipeline,” which now includes preliminary engineering.

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