BRIDGE RESCUE: Kansas ready to fix damaged rural bridges

Rural bridges do not get as much traffic, but they still can generate plenty of noise when they become structurally deficient.

Kansas is responding by offering up $10 million to repair 77 rural bridges across the state which are in desperate need of repair.

“These bridges might have low traffic numbers, but they are important to the farmers that use them to get their equipment to fields and crops to market,” said Kansas DOT Secretary Mike King.

One bridge in Sedgwick County is in critical condition. The Federal Highway Administration rates bridges on a 100 scale, and the span on 103^rd Street South received a score of 47.

Kansas is giving each deteriorated bridge $120,000 for repair work. If a county or city is taking on two, the funding is upped to $160,000.