According to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), construction of a new interchange at Kellogg and I-235 is now slated to begin in 2015. Originally constructed over 50 years ago, most agree this dangerously out-of-date cloverleaf should have been rebuilt 20 years ago.

Five years ago, the Wichita City Council voted to build a bridge over the Big Ditch at 13th Street. The 13th Street Bridge was designed to reduce traffic on Zoo Boulevard and 13th Street by taking it over the Big Ditch at 13th, and directing it to a new Kellogg and I-235 interchange. The bridge, nearly complete, will open within the next few months. Construction of the new interchange has not yet started, and until it’s complete, we can look forward to more heavy traffic on 13th Street and continued dangerous conditions until the Kellogg and I-235 interchange is completed. Around the Capitol folks refer to the Kansas Department of Transportation as the “Bank of  KDOT.” Why? Every time the state general fund runs low on money the governor “borrows” money from the ten year state highway fund approved by the legislature 5 years ago. To date, over $1 billion has been taken from highway funds to shore up the state budget.

We cannot allow borrowing from the state highway fund to delay construction of projects like the Kellogg and I-235 interchange. The state highway fund is meant to build and maintain our roads and highways, not pay for needless tax cuts for wealthy Kansans. Holding up the “Bank of KDOT” makes our streets and highways less safe, and delays highway projects and the jobs and industry they bring to Kansans.

We need to use our state highway fund for highways, not to patch potholes in the state budget caused by unfair and short sighted tax cuts for the wealthiest Kansans.