Hutchinson - The first of a series of working meetings of the K-61 Community Advisory Group is
scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 11, from 1:00 - 4:00 P.M. at the Hutchinson Public Works Facility, 1500
S. Plum Street. The group, comprised of community leaders recommended by K-61 project sponsors
in Reno and McPherson counties and the cities of Hutchinson, McPherson and Inman, will serve as the
community voice to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and its consultants Wilson and
Company, Salina HNTB, Overland Park and PEC, Wichita in developing plans to improve the stretch of
highway between McPherson and Hutchinson. Quarterly meetings of the group are scheduled throughout
the two-year planning phase of the project at various sites within the project area.
Community Advisory Group members are: Jerald Robinson, Wayne Johnson and Paul Hiebert, representing
Reno county Jacqueline Ankenman, Frank Stuckey and Dave Arbuckle, representing Hutchinson Kristy Gaither
and Doris Ridge, representing Inman Bill Goering, Mel Tarum and Tom Brown, representing McPherson
and Rodger Swanson, Doug Sawyer and Kathy Malm, representing McPherson county. "As planning
for this project progresses, the Community Advisory Group will play an important role both in serving
as a sounding board for us to weigh community reaction to some of the questions and issues our staff
may have, and in providing valuable feedback to guide us through this process," said Carl Hill,
KDOT public involvement liaison. The corridor location design concept study is one of KDOT's
System Enhancement Projects of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The study will examine feasible
locations for a four-lane roadway and the potential to upgrade the existing two-lane highway to
four-lanes. Cooperative funding between KDOT and local partners such as cities and counties is used to
design and build special projects that will substantially improve safety, relieve traffic congestion
and enhance economic development.
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