Saving lives is focus of Safety Pilot Program
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Motorists traveling across Kansas will now see increased traffic safety messaging and new signage on four particular stretches of highway. One of those stretches extends from St. Marys to Manhattan in Pottawatomie County.
The Safety Corridor Pilot Program is a five-year initiative to reduce fatalities and serious
injuries. Increased law enforcement, traffic safety education campaigns, low-cost engineering improvements and a review of emergency response issues are part of the comprehensive approach of the program’s goals, according to a press release from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Road users traveling the safety corridors will see new warning signs: “Safety Corridor – Increased Enforcement.” The safety corridors were selected based on a history of fatal and serious injury crashes, availability of additional law enforcement and input from local transportation safety
partners. From 2016 to 2021, over 500 crashes occurred on these corridors resulting in 35
deaths and 68 serious injuries.
In early 2023, meetings were held with area traffic safety partners to discuss issues, make recommendations and develop an overall plan. The four corridors include:
• I-135: Sedgwick and Harvey counties, from Park City to North Newton.
• U.S. 24: Pottawatomie County, from St. Marys west to Manhattan.
• U.S. 83/50: Finney County, from Plymell north through Garden City.
• U.S. 69: Crawford County, from the U.S. 400 junction north through Frontenac and
Pittsburg to the U.S. 160 junction.
The Safety Corridor Pilot Program is a strategic initiative of the Drive To Zero (DTZ)
Coalition, and it will run until 2028.
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