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City sees year of improvement projects
From road and building projects to broadband internet and business expansion and other upgrades, the city of Fort Scott showed several signs of growth and development in 2015.
The following are projects that are part of economic development in Fort Scott, some of which started this year and others that will carry over into 2016.
Quiet zone
The city began a project in late 2015 to construct a quiet zone at the Wall Street railroad crossing. The project, which has been approved by the Kansas Department of Transportation and BNSF Railroad, is aimed at quieting trains as they approach railroad crossings in order to decrease noise level for nearby residences. Train horns are silenced when other safety measures are put in place.
City officials said the project is expected to be complete in spring 2016. The approximately $168,000 project is being funded by money from the transient guest tax and some city funds. The city is assisting with some of the work for the project.
U.S. Highway 69 widening and intersection improvements
City officials said construction on two separate projects to widen U.S. 69 and make improvements to the highway's intersections with 18th and 23rd streets and South National Avenue is expected to start in March 2016. The projects were bid out by KDOT in September.
U.S. 69 will be widened into a five-lane highway with a middle turn lane from 23rd Street north to 18th Street. The project also involves resurfacing and overlay with minimal reconstruction and traffic signals, as well as construction of turn lanes.
The approximately $4 million projects are being funded mostly by grant money and some budgeted city funds. The city's cost for the widening project is about $440,000 with a KDOT grant paying about $731,000. The city has no money in the intersection project, which is being funded entirely by about $3 million in KDOT and federal grants, Director of Finance Jon Garrison said.
Wall Street sidewalks
In mid-2015, the city was awarded a grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce to install new sidewalks along a portion of Wall Street on the east side of the city.
The total estimated cost for the project is $248,390 with the grant paying for $221,400 of the project cost. The city's portion of the matching grant is $26,990.
The project would involve construction of 4,110-feet of 4-inch concrete ADA-compliant sidewalks with ramps and detectable warning pavers in an area bounded by the south side of Wall Street from Margrave to Steen Streets.
City officials said this project is expected to be bid out in spring 2016. The city submitted an application for the project in May.
Industrial Park access/entrance improvements
In March, city officials learned the city was awarded a $1.2 million KDOT grant for a project to make access improvements off of U.S. 69 into the Fort Scott Industrial Park.
The city's portion of the project is $168,990 to pay for design and engineering costs. The project will construct two new turn lanes off U.S. 69 into the industrial park as well as some interior connector roads onto U.S. 69 and Campbell Drive. The purpose of the project is to improve access to existing and proposed development within the industrial park, as well as alleviate traffic issues.
Proposed improvements include adding a northbound right-turn lane and a southbound left-turn lane at the existing crossover and east side entrance at this location, as well as improving the east side entrance and constructing internal roadways to connect with existing roadways. City Manager Dave Martin said intersection improvements will be made at U.S. 69 and Hickory Road, which runs off the highway between the KDOT office and the Fort Scott Community College truck driving school. He said the plan is to complete Campbell Drive and connect that road to Hickory Road as part of a plan to make safer entrances and exits at the industrial park. The Bourbon County Economic Development Council, Inc., (BEDCO) has committed $50,000 toward the project.
City officials said this project will be bid out in February with construction expected to begin in summer 2016.