HUMBOLDT — A $2.1 million state transportation grant will allow Monarch Cement to build nearly 9,000 feet of railroad tracks and eliminate about 2,800 truckloads of deliveries each year.
Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas Department of Transportation secretary Julie Lorenz met with Monarch officials on Thursday afternoon to announce $11.5 million in grants to 17 short line railroad projects across the state.
Monarch will receive the largest award, which will add lines around the cement plant as part of the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. The railroad is owned by Watco, a transportation company based in Pittsburg.
“Monarch has worked diligently to be an example. All we do — whether it’s the products we produce, the benefits we provide or our safety and environmental impact — this company has always worked hard to be on the leading edge,” Kent Webber, Monarch president, said during a press conference.
The railroad line will allow Monarch to move trainloads of material into and out of the plant, reducing the need for truck traffic. That will reduce the company’s transportation costs as well as diminish wear and tear on local highways and improve air quality.
Lorenz noted that Monarch also advocated for improvements to U.S. 169 between Iola, Chanute and Thayer. Those projects began in recent years, with the final stretch to be completed by this fall.
“We appreciate the collaborative approach to navigate the U.S. 169 improvement. Transportation is a team sport. Humboldt native Walter Johnson would appreciate that,” she said.
Gov. Kelly also stressed the importance of collaboration. Each of the grant awardees will need to contribute at least 40% of the costs to their projects. With those contributions, the total investment in rail projects will be $19 million.
“That means everyone, from the state to the individual companies, has a stake in the project’s success,” Kelly said. “It exemplifies the best of government by being fiscally responsible and collaborative to produce results.”
Most of the projects are in western and southern Kansas.
THE KANSAS State Rail Service Improvement Fund is part of the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, known as IKE, which began in 1999.
A bipartisan group of Kansas lawmakers voted in 2020 to continue to fund the program.
In the program’s 20 years, Kansas has invested more than $57 million in the rail network system, with another $85 million in private sector matching funds to improve 1,800 miles of track.
Kansas has 4,600 miles of active railroad track served by 19 railroads.
More than 50 million tons of freight, valued at more than $10 billion, are transported along Kansas railroads each year. The rail system is particularly critical for the state’s agricultural industry.
“Our investment must keep pace,” Lorenz said.
