Page 13 - Demo

13 continuedROAD NOTES: LAST THOUGHTSBy Keith Browning, P.E., KAC Local Road EngineerAs most of you know, I fully retired at the end of 2024. I will turn 71 years old in February, and it is time to step aside and let someone else continue with the effort to communicate and advance county road issues. It has been a pleasure and a privilege serving as your KAC Local Road Engineer for the past four years.The good news is that Darryl Lutz, retired Butler County Engineer, is taking over as KAC Local Road Engineer. Darryl is very experienced and knowledgeable, and he has the energy and enthusiasm needed for this position. He has been very active in the Kansas County Highway Association serving as KCHA president twice and chairing various KCHA committees over several decades of service. Most of you know Darryl well. I am confident he will do a great job for all of you.In this my last %u2018Road Notes%u2019 article, here are some thoughts on what I see as pressing issues for Kansas county roads and road and bridge departments. Long-Term Planning The county road network in Kansas is very large. According to KDOT statistics, Kansas totals 140,112 center line miles of roads, which ranks No. 4 among all states (while ranking No. 36 by population and No. 15 by land area). County roads in the state total 113,036 center line miles, which is approximately 81% of the total miles. Counties own approximately 75% of the approximately 25,000 bridges in Kansas.Maintaining and/or improving this large county road network requires having an adequate tax base both now and in the future. Unfortunately, many counties, especially rural counties, are actually losing population. The public feels current property taxes are too high. It is probably unrealistic to think you can keep increasing property taxes to meet the rising costs of maintaining roads. Federal and state programs help greatly but will never be enough to cover the ever-increasing maintenance costs for your entire road network. Is your current road network sustainable over the next several decades? County commissioners and road department leaders should carefully consider that question periodically and work to develop long-term plans for their county road network. Long-term planning includes careful consideration of revenue projections and whether or not your current county road network can be sustained into the future. Will you need to maintain every mile of road and every bridge in the current network? Perhaps the road network can be reduced while still providing required access to rural residences and properties. Can some bridges be replaced with engineered low-water crossings or even permanently closed? If it is determined a road will be needed well into the future, does the road need to remain paved or can it be turned into a rock surfaced road?Consideration of such issues can result in some painful conclusions, but commissioners and road department leaders are doing their citizens a disservice if they do not look into the future beyond the next few years.Asset ManagementCounty infrastructure assets include bridges, culverts, pavements, signs, and gravel roads. Counties have a good handle on bridge assets given the required biannual bridge inspections and inspection reports. Many counties have inventories of culverts and signs but may not inspect those assets regularly. County engineers and road supervisors have knowledge of their pavements but many lack a documented inventory and a systematic method of recording pavement conditions and tracking maintenance costs. These assets are a sizeable taxpayer investment that should be carefully managed.