Kansas infrastructure receives $84.6 million in federal funding

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly along with Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary Julie Lorenz announced the state department has received around $84.6 million in federal funding.

The funds come from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) of 2021.

Approved by Congress and signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, the CRRSAA included $10 billion for state highway and transportation systems.

“These dollars will not only support necessary infrastructure repairs in our communities, but will also play a key role in our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by creating jobs and promoting economic growth,” Kelly said.

Although Kansas received $94 million in total, $9.1 million of those funds will collectively go directly to the Kansas City and Wichita metro areas, as federally designated.

KDOT will distribute the remaining funds to cities and counties to restore motor fuel tax revenue losses, advance preservation work, and increase funding for popular local partnership programs.

Kelly said every county and city in Kansas will be receiving funds from the CRRSAA to invest in their community, with special consideration to those communities who were impacted the most.

Kelly also noted multiple options to consider for how to best invest the CRRSA funds. Her administration, in collaboration with KDOT, ultimately selected an approach allowing the accomplishment of three goals:

• Invest the maximum amount of dollars into our economy in the least amount of time.   
• Invest dollars in every Kansas county, leaving no part of the state behind.
• Target additional economic opportunities in the communities that have been hit the hardest during the pandemic.