Kansas Governor Signs Agreement to Replace Topeka's Polk-Quincy Viaduct

TOPEKA, KS — Governor Laura Kelly recently joined Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary Julie Lorenz, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, and other community partners to sign a formal funding partnership agreement for the Polk-Quincy Viaduct project in Topeka.

The project will replace Topeka's Polk-Quincy Viaduct and expand I-70 to six lanes from MacVicar Avenue to Topeka Boulevard. Work will remove a sharp curve on the viaduct while also making improvements for motorists traveling through or entering the downtown area.

“As a long-time Topeka resident, I understand the significance of the Polk-Quincy project — and what a game-changer it will be for Topekans and for all those traveling on I-70,” Kelly said. “I am eager to add my name, in representation of this administration and the IKE transportation plan, to the partnership group strengthening the Polk-Quincy Viaduct for generations to come.”

The agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to mark the formal funding partnership between KDOT and the City of Topeka. The agreement commits the partners to cooperatively work toward implementation of the I-70 Polk-Quincy Viaduct Project.

Other organizations represented in the partnership include Shawnee County, the Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization, the Topeka-Shawnee County Riverfront Authority, the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority, and the Greater Topeka Partnership.

The MOU reads, in part:

“The partners further commit to remain focused on collaboration and supportive engagement, while helping to ensure that issues are resolved in a timely manner, information is being shared proactively, and that due consideration is given to each partner's unique goals and interests, and roles and responsibilities.”

Kelly and Lorenz originally announced the Polk-Quincy project in July as one of eight Expansion and Modernization highway projects in eastern Kansas — totaling more than $297 million in investments — that have been committed to construction as part of the Kelly Administration's bipartisan transportation plan.

“Polk-Quincy will be a landmark project for this community and our state,” Lorenz said. “KDOT is committed to being the best partner we can be as we make the front door to our capital city something we can all be proud of.”