Apparently Lawrence and Douglas County do not have the political clout, or its leaders have not done a sufficiently good enough job in outlining and updating its highway needs, or maybe the needs of Lawrence and Douglas County pale in comparison with traffic needs in other parts of the state.

The answer probably depends on whom you ask why the city and county recently got blanked out in use of money provided the state through President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan.

A long discussed interchange at Bob Billings Parkway (West 15th Street) and the South Lawrence Trafficway was axed. This project was projected to cost $10 million. Another bid by the county was a Highway 10 plan to widen the busy roadway by two additional lanes. This, too, was tossed out.

According to a state highway official, the main reason the interchange project was rejected was that it “was not ready to go” whereas the five projects approved were ready to be put out for bid within a few weeks.

It is difficult to understand why the city and county do not have plans because this intersection was on the original plan for the trafficway when it was first designed years ago.

City and county officials have a number of other projects they say need attention, such as reconstruction of part of Kasold Drive from Clinton Parkway to 31st Street; reconstruction of part of the Farmers Turnpike; and bike and pedestrian trails and railway depot restoration. The restoration of Kasold raises questions about the quality of work when the roadway was first built.

Based on the outcome of Lawrence and Douglas County’s first two requests that were pitched, it appears local officials need to develop specific plans for new projects and have them ready when there is an opportunity to seek funding assistance.

A lesson in the Kasold situation is to make sure city and/or county inspectors do a thorough job in their inspections to make sure contractors are meeting or exceeding quality requirements. This might reduce the number of streets that need costly “reconstruction.”

The big question regarding area road construction is how long will it be before work will begin to finish the south and east loop of the South Lawrence Trafficway? This long-delayed project is one of the top, if not the top, trafficway needs in the city and county. It’s critical. The manipulated delays in this project are almost criminal in the millions of added dollars taxpayers will have to pay. It’s far past time for this project to move ahead and not be crippled by special, selfish interests.