The Bank of KDOT once again is open.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has gained that informal designation because of the frequency with which governors and legislators tap into the department’s reserve funds to help balance the state budget. It apparently is a convenient place to find a few hundred million dollars when you need it — as Gov. Sam Brownback recently did.

Brownback announced last month that he would transfer $96 million from KDOT to help make up for revenue shortfalls in the current fiscal year. In the budget plan he released last week, he increased that amount to $151 million. In addition, he proposed diverting $115 million from KDOT during the fiscal year beginning next July and another $115 million the following year. That’s a total of $385 million in transfers over a three-year period — for now. Who knows how much more might be transferred if revenue doesn’t keep up in the next couple of years?

As noted, Brownback isn’t the first governor to transfer money from KDOT to help balance the budget. The state’s transportation system seems to have weathered the withdrawals, but at what point do these transfers seriously compromise the quality of the state’s highways?

The good news for Lawrence is that KDOT spokesman Steve Swartz confirmed again Tuesday that construction of the eastern leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway and other major projects in the 10-year T-Works program won’t be affected by the transfers. What will be affected, he said, is about $297 million in “preservation” projects, which haven’t been scheduled. Those include such things as road resurfacing, bridge repairs and other projects on existing roads. At this point, Swartz said, KDOT is “hoping to just delay” those projects until the state’s financial situation improves enough to allow it to return some of the funds it has borrowed.

All Kansans should share that hope. High quality, well-maintained highways are an important safety, convenience and economic development asset for the state, but it won’t take long to lose that asset if KDOT funds continue to be routinely siphoned off for other uses.