The Kansas Department of Transportation provided an update Monday afternoon on the US 56 corridor study between McPherson and Marion. This update covered internal discussions regarding potential projects in the corridor
The major change affecting McPherson County is that KDOT has decided not to move forward at this time with a proposal to construct a bypass south of Galva which was presented at the last series of community meetings. It will instead look at other reconstruction options for the highway on the south edge of Galva, which has been more or less unchanged since its original paving.
KDOT has prioritized other McPherson County projects, that will continue into the next phase of preliminary design. In addition to the Galva option, this will look at reconstruction options on the south edge of Canton, adding passing lanes between Canton and Galva and between the intersections with K-15 west of Hillsboro, and improvements at 22nd and 25th avenues.
A second phase will focus on improvements just east of McPherson, including the intersection with 17th Avenue, passing lanes from there east to the area of 18th Avenue, and reconfiguration of the Limestone Road Intersection.
The update said these areas have been identified as focus points of the corridor and going forward KDOT will work on funding preliminary design these projects with construction funding to be determined later.
In Marion County, another part of US 56 improvements is going to move forward This is a proposal to widen existing paved shoulder from three to ten feet from the east K-15 junction near Hillsboro to the junction of US 56 and 77 near Marion. This project is projected to begin in 2027.
This information has been posted on the project page, which can be found at ksdot.gov/US56-Marion-McPherson.
