Kansas governor introduces new FORWARD transportation plan

Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas DOT (KDOT) Secretary Julie Lorenz this week announced a new transportation program—dubbed FORWARD—as part of the Transportation Day activities at the Kansas State Capitol. “Key features of FORWARD include a flexible, responsive rolling program where major projects are selected every two years rather than once a decade,” Gov. Kelly said in a statement. “FORWARD also calls for completion of delayed T-WORKS projects; transit, aviation, rail, bike, and pedestrian solutions that solve problems in rural and urban Kansas; and more partnerships with local communities to increase both local matches and the number of improvements we can make.” FORWARD will also provide more resources to communities through new initiatives such as the Cost-Share, Local Bridge Improvement, and Strategic Safety programs to help address Kansans’ pent-up demand for transportation investments, Secretary Lorenz said.