Greensburg ? The Kansas Department of Transportation’s $40 million plan to rebuild U.S. 54 through Greensburg will either help revive the tornado-stricken town’s businesses or drive away investment dollars.

It depends on whom you ask.

The highway plan will split Greensburg, with new businesses and industry to the north and homes to the south. The four-lane highway will run east and west, with green space between the lanes.

City leaders are concerned there won’t be enough freeway traffic to support the town’s rebuilt businesses. Instead of the two lanes of U.S. 54 that now run through the middle of Greensburg, there will be one exit from the east and one from the west. Others worry that the KDOT plan will leave the town with less business investment capital.

Some business owners are defending the highway plan, saying they will make due with whatever the state and federal government provide.

The bottom line is that Greensburg businesses need more than Kiowa County patronage to survive, officials said. City business leaders believe having additional exits would help, too. However, KDOT officials said Greensburg will not likely get more than the two highway exits already planned.

“Interchanges have a profound influence on the traffic flow on the main line,” KDOT spokesman Ron Kaufman said. “People will slow down, merge and create disruptions in the traffic flow.”

Mike Estes, who with his brother, Kelly, owns BTI’s John Deere dealership in Greensburg, said he understands the safety concerns, but he still would like to see at least one more exit.

Kelly Estes defends the highway plan. He said Greensburg businesses need to find creative ways to attract customers, like installing roadside signs and advertising more aggressively.