Surveys of Allen County bridges by Kansas Department of Transportation technicians found 11 in need of attention, three of them having “fractures” that prompted more immediate action.
Bill King, director of Public Works, told county commissioners Tuesday morning that his crew was ahead of the game and knew well ahead of the report the deficiencies.
“The county line bridge (on old U.S. 169 just north of the Allen-Neosho counties line) already has been rebuilt and the other two are scheduled for replacement,” within the next two or three years, he said. They are the iron bridge on the Utah Road a mile west of Geneva and another iron bridge over Owl Creek about three miles west of Humboldt.
Eight others bridges were threatened by scouring, King said, which means approaches have eroded or material meant to prevent erosion was not considered effective enough by KDOT standards.
King said county crews could deal with those problems.
In addition to road maintenance anticipated this summer, King said he would dispatch crews to work on the Humboldt-to-Elsmore and Elsmore-to-Savonburg hard-surfaced roads.
“They got beat up pretty good lately by trucks,” including those hauling wheat to elevators, he said.
The roads are capable of standing up to heavily loaded trucks, King said, but sustain patchy problems when the frequency of traffic picks up, as it does at harvest time.
LIN GILLEN, a special investigator for the Kansas Human Rights Commission in Independence, familiarized commissioners with the rights group.
“Our purpose is to prevent discrimination in facilities, ensure equal opportunities for all and discourage racial profiling,” Gillen said. “Most of our complaints are employment-related, probably 99 percent.”
She left posters for the county to display that give information about discrimination and how grievances may be filed by anyone who suspects mistreatment.
The Kansas commission has recovered more than $8.7 million the past 10 years on behalf of people who alleged discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing from 9,219 complaints.
Gillen said more information was available from the commission’s website, www.khrc.net, or by calling 1-888-793-6874 or 785-296-3206.
