Douglas County Public Works receives $1.4 million grant from KDOT to replace area bridge

photo by: Screenshot

The bridge – located on N 1800 Road, 0.76 miles west of E 1200 road – was built in 1970 and it carries N 1800 Road over Baldwin Creek northwest of Lawrence.

The Kansas Department of Transportation awarded Douglas County a $1.4 million grant to replace a bridge northwest of Lawrence due to its aging concrete and limited load capacity.

The bridge – located on North 1800 Road, 0.76 miles west of East 1200 Road – was built in 1970 and carries traffic on North 1800 Road over Baldwin Creek northwest of Lawrence. The bridge had been selected for the State Fiscal Year 2025 Kansas Local Bridge Improvement program, which awarded $19.8 million in funds to 19 bridge replacement projects throughout Kansas, according to a press release.

According to the Public Works Department’s Capital Improvement Plan, the bridge needs to be replaced because of its narrow roadway and poor concrete conditions. In addition, there was a truck accident that occurred in March 2024 that damaged the southwest guardrail and bridge rail. Public Works recommends accelerating this project to completion prior to KDOT’s planned reconstruction of the Lecompton Interchange.

On Wednesday at the County Commission’s business meeting, County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said this award was a maximum allowable of state funds through the KDOT local bridge agreement program.

“The last award we got was in 2014,” Plinsky said. “We’re really excited about this opportunity and contribution towards our project.”

Douglas County Public Works Director Chad Voigt told the Journal-World in an email that construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and expected to take five to six months to complete.

The Capital Improvement Plan also mentioned that Douglas County maintains 161 bridges located on county and township roads, and each bridge has an average lifespan of 70 to 80 years. Public Works has a goal of replacing two bridges per year to maintain safe and reliable roads into the future.

There are more than 19,000 bridges on local road systems across Kansas, and nearly 5,000 of those bridges need updates for today’s standards, according to a press release.