State grant to help rebuild county road
Staff writer
A mile-long stretch of Nighthawk Rd. plagued by moisture-related problems will be rebuilt thanks to a state cost-share grant that could provide up to $450,000 for the project.
Marion County was selected for through Kansas Department of Transportation’s spring 2026 cost share program. The project will reconstruct Nighthawk Rd. between 190th Rd. and US-56.
The county plans to remove the existing roadway and rebuild it using a geosynthetic mat designed to address moisture problems that repeatedly have undermined the road’s base, administrative coordinator Doug Kjellin said.
The project will include installation of the mat followed by 12 inches of crushed concrete base and a three-inch hot-mix asphalt surface.
“That road has a low area to it, and the moisture keeps tearing down our base,” Kjellin said.
The geosynthetic material is intended to isolate moisture and provide a more stable roadbed.
The state grant requires a 50% local match. The maximum state award is $450,000, Kjellin said.
Ge estimated the project could cost roughly $900,000, although a final estimate has not been established.
The section was selected because previous improvements did not hold up.
The road is one of the primary routes into the unincorporated community of Canada. It also provides access to a grain elevator during harvest seasons.
Preliminary engineering already has been completed as part of the application process, Kjellin said.
The county expects to spend the next four to six months completing engineering work and establishing a bid-letting date.
Had the county not received the grant, Kjellin said, the project likely still would have been completed eventually.