Kansas DOT Opens Application Window for Cost Share Program

Fall 2019 and spring 2020 Cost Share awardees. (Kansas Department of Transportation)

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The Kansas Department of Transportation is accepting applications for its popular Cost Share Program, which provides funding for transportation projects.

The Cost Share Program is designed to rely on state, local and private funding. The program provides funding to local entities for transportation projects that aim to improve safety, reduce congestion, support economic growth and improve mobility in rural and urban areas.

KDOT officials announced Sept. 3 that the window for applications had opened. Some $5.5 million is available for this round of funding. This fall marks the third round of funding made possible by the program, which was created in fall 2019.

The Cost Share Program provides financial assistance to local entities for projects that improve safety, leverage state funds to increase transportation investment. Apps are open until Oct. 1
Webinar Sept. 11 @ 11 am: https://t.co/pi3E5n93sI
More info: https://t.co/73Gv0umB3Y pic.twitter.com/srtR3lMyfe — KDOT (@KDOTHQ) September 3, 2020

“The continuation of the Cost Share Program shows KDOT’s ongoing commitment to creating economic growth and job opportunities by improving transportation across Kansas,” Deputy Secretary of Transportation Lindsey Douglas said.

All facets of transportation, including roadway (on and off the state highway system), rail, airport, bicycle and public transit projects, are eligible for Cost Share Program funds.

Funding requests must remain within $35,000 and $900,000, according to KDOT. The agency will be accepting applications for the program through Oct. 1.

The Cost Share Program requires a minimum 15% nonstate cash match, although additional consideration is given to applications that commit more than the minimum match amount. Awarded funds must be used only for construction.

On July 9, Kansas officials announced 24 projects representing nearly $20 million in transportation investments had been selected as part of the previous round of Cost Share Program funding. Selected projects included road improvements in Logan County, in the western part of the state, and three bridge replacements in Kingman County, located west of Wichita. Another project involves reconstructing the runway at Garnett Municipal Airport, which is 73 miles southwest of Kansas City.

“Past Cost Share participants have proven this program to be the financial boost that many small and large communities needed to achieve their project goals,” Douglas said.

The number of interested participants in the program suggests high demand for transportation projects across the state. KDOT received requests for funding for 136 projects totaling $228 million in the previous round of awards.

Kelly

Gov. Laura Kelly, who was elected in November 2018, has authorized $216 million in sales tax revenue to remain in the state highway fund in fiscal 2020. This funding helped make the Cost Share Program possible.

Through the highway fund, KDOT was able to reinstate the Local Bridge Improvement Program in August 2019. The initiative had been dropped because of budget cuts over the past few years.

The Cost Share Program will be continued through the Eisenhower Transportation Legacy Program, known as IKE. Created in March, IKE is a 10-year program under which highway modernization and expansion projects will be selected on a rolling basis every two years to address pressing needs and adjust to fluctuating revenues. (President Dwight Eisenhower, the program’s namesake, was raised in Abilene, Kan.)

More than 2,000 constituents participated in local meetings to shape the IKE program. Besides the rolling nature of the program, key features include investments in broadband and new technologies, and a continued commitment to multimodal transportation.

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