By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — Cherokee County residents turned out last week to let Kansas Department of Transportation officials know their opinions about plans to widen and improve Kansas Highway 7.
The 11-mile section being considered for improvement is from Columbus north to Cherokee. The highway is 26 feet wide, with two-foot shoulders, where there are shoulders. It doesn’t meet modern highway standards, transportation officials said.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has decided that the improvements will be along the existing highway route. The estimated cost of the project is $19 million. There’s no funding available for construction, but the state has found money to do engineering work.
“The road has been improved to the north and to the south,” said Priscilla Peterson, KDOT public affairs manager. “People want to see improvements to this section.”
“It needs something,” said Carl Handshy, 80, who has lived along the highway for half his life. “When I moved there, I could drive my horses and wagon on the road,” Handshy said, adding that was no longer possible because of heavy traffic. He said when someone has a flat tire on the road, they can’t pull on to the shoulder, because there’s no shoulder.
“What makes me aggravated is they fixed the highway south of Columbus,” Handshy said, adding that he thought that highway was fine before the repairs. He also mentioned the improvements to Highway 7 between Cherokee and Girard farther north.
Howard Lubliner, KDOT project engineer, said contributing to the decision to follow the existing highway was that KDOT already has replaced several bridges along the highway. He said the highway had been widened where the bridges were built.
He said complications include the houses and buildings beside the highway. Lubliner said in some cases, the highway can be moved a little to the east or west to accommodate buildings. Otherwise, he said, the state would buy property from owners for right-of-way.
Many of those attending Thursday’s meeting live along the highway section.
Marie Stout, 63, was at the meeting with her husband, Ben. She said they live on the west side of the highway and a landfill is on the east side of the highway.
“It’s a little bit scary,” Stout said. “We’re here to find out as much as we can find out.”
She said she and her husband have witnessed many accidents along their stretch of the highway in the 25 years they have lived there.
“That is the most dangerous place,” Stout said. “There’ve been quite a few wrecks.”
David Boyd, 60, said he doesn’t live along the highway, but he has traveled it all his life, beginning as a child riding with his parents.
“It’s needed to be done for years,” Boyd said. “It’s definitely moving in the direction we need to.”
Wayne Getman, 50, also lives along the highway. He said unless the project removes several structures, the highway would be “as a crooked as a dog’s leg.”
“I don’t know how they’re going to do it, to tell you the truth,” he said.
Jim Robinson, 60, also lives along the highway. He said the state must consider a landfill, abandoned mines and other complications when making its plans.
“For safety’s sake, it would be a lot better,” he said of the plans.
