Fort Scott, KS – A major announcement for SEK came this morning (October 9th), an announcement that has been debated for a decade. Governor Brownback and Secretary of Transportation, Mike King, was in town to announce the final stretch of highway 69, from Arma to Pittsburg, will be widened to a four lane highway.
It will be a $23.5 million project that has been a long time coming. Brownback cites the reason for being able to do this now is other projects in the state coming in under cost. Already announced and funded is the stretch from Fort Scott to Arma, although construction has not started. The total project will cost about $70 million and will cover about 18 miles. Construction is expected to begin in 2017 and will be completed 2019.
Following the announcement Governor Brownback continued to visit local places in SEK, part of campaigning for the upcoming elections. He didn’t make any remarks but used the time to connect with local people at Papa Don’s pizza in downtown Fort Scott.