Highway

Press release from KDOT: KDOT Announces Future Location for US-54 in Greensburg After extensive collaboration with Greensburg community leaders and input from city residents, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) will begin developing a project to relocate US-54 in Greensburg along a route north of the current highway.  The road will be located between the current US-54 and railroad tracks about three blocks to the north.  Known as Concept A, it includes a split diamond interchange for access into the community.

Recent changes to Kansas roadways have been causing some confusion with drivers and emergency responders. The Kansas Department of Transportation redesignated segments of highways K-14, K-61, K-96 and K-17 in Kingman and Reno Counties. State Highway 14 from US-54 to K-61 has been changed to K-11. K-17 from US-54 to K-96 is now K-14. K-96 to Nickerson has been redesignated as Highway K-14 with K96 Dual. Official roadway changes have not been communicated.

There will be a little less beer available this Labor Day weekend.  That's because thousands of beer cans ended up scattered on a Missouri highway. A beer truck was in route to St. Joseph Friday morning when the driver lost control near Stewartsville.  The truck overturned, sending a stream of beer flowing along the highway. There were 46,000 pounds of beer on the truck.  All of the cans ended up in the dumpster instead of the grocery store. "If any of those cans open up, since it's under pressure, it sprays all over everything else, and the bacteria and stuff that can come from that, they normally will just condemn the whole load," said the driver of the truck.

A counterfeit cop...hunting the highways...his prey could be anyone he's able to pull over. "I'm not too worried about myself," Kingman County farmer Nick Panek says.  "I have means to take care of myself.  It's my wife and the women I think we need to be worried about. " The first incident happened on July 2nd near Kansas City.  A man driving a car made up to look like a Kansas State Patrol car--lights and all--pulled over an 18-year-old woman at night and sexually assaulted her. The second time was just a few days ago halfway across the state near the tiny town of Nashville.  It happened in the middle of the afternoon in a very remote area of Southwest Kingman County, a bit off the beaten path where traffic is light and where law enforcement officers are rarely seen.  The victim was a man who says the bogus officer handcuffed him and searched his car, then let him go.  The perp was driving a Ford Crown Victoria with official markings and appeared to be carrying a gun. Investigators are still trying to determine whether they're looking for one fake cop or two. Authorities Kansas warn drivers to be on alert.

Troopers with the Kansas Highway Patrol were involved in a brief high-speed chase Wednesday night. The chase began with what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop at K-96 & Woodlawn just before nine o'clock. Authorities called off the chase a short time later as it moved into a more heavily trafficked area.

A portion of a Missouri highway had to be closed Saturday night because of a messy spill. A truck carrying mayonnaise lost control, and hit a bridge pier.  The semi ripped apart 40,000 pounds of mayo. It took crews hours to clean up the mess, and re-open the highway. One police officer said walking walking on the spilled mayo was like trying to walk on ice.

A string of accidents along K-254 in Sedgwick county have officers, road officials, and everyday drivers repeating the same thing - 'Pay Attention'.      Stop signs dot the intersection of Kansas Highway 254 and various roads in northern Sedgwick County.       Sometimes, drivers do stop.  And sometimes they don't.      We staked out intersections along Highway 254 Tuesday morning. Even in the rain, people illegally rolled right through the stop sign.      The Kansas Highway Patrol says drivers who didn't yield caused all three accidents this week - two of the accidents were fatal.

You can see the signs, just don't follow them yet. Thursday, crews from the Kansas Department of Transportation started replacing 70 mph signs with new 75 mph signs on some Kansas highways. It's part of a new law raising the speed limit on certain highways. The issue is that the law does not go into effect until July 1st, which is Friday. That means, even though the signs say 75, drivers are expected to follow the old limits until Friday. The new speed limit affects much of I-135 north of Wichita, most of I-70 and the Kansas Turnpike.

UPDATE: Police say Jared Sanchez has been arrested in Derby.  Information from cell phone records led authorities to the house. Officers say Sanchez surrendered without a fight. Investigators tell us they're glad he's off the streets. Sumner County Sheriff's Deputies picked him up after the arrest and returned him to jail. He's being held on a warrant out of Louisiana for a parole violation. UPDATE: A man has been taken into custody.  We are still waiting to hear from authorities.

It's taken years for Sumner County to reach this point. On Friday, the state gave its final approval for the Kansas Star casino. The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission approved background checks for Peninsula Gaming, which will now open a casino early next year. With the approval, the state is $25 million richer from the privilege fee Peninsula Gaming paid for the casino. And that's a good thing, since Governor Brownback is already counting on that money to help balance the budget.