Sedgwick County budget discussion revives questions on Northwest Expressway
County engineer says no funding included in next year’s budget
SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) — A discussion about the Sedgwick County budget turned into a broader discussion about the Northwest Expressway project and its current state.
The Northwest Expressway has been a topic for decades. The project would connect Maize and Goddard, bypassing Wichita.
Regarding funding for the project, Sedgwick County provided the following clarification:
“In the County Manager’s recommended budget proposed in July, funding for the Northwest Expressway project included a budget of $740,000. Based upon recent cost estimates that the County has received, the County Engineer is suggesting to reallocate the funds to projects with overages due to cost estimate adjustments. A large reason for the alternative recommendation goes back to the lack of a study or direction from the state related to the Northwest Expressway. The Northwest Expressway was funded in the 2026 budget, but those funds have not been spent.”
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and a consultant were supposed to conduct a new feasibility study for the Northwest Expressway. The study was due any day but has been delayed until early next year.
The possibility of the expressway began in 1997 but has never gotten final approval from KDOT.
Commissioner Ryan Baty called the $20 million project, the bridge to nowhere.
“Forty percent of the right-of-way has been purchased, and the whole community in Commissioner Wise and I’s district is saying, ‘Well, where are we going with this thing?’” Baty said. “It’s absolutely asinine to think that we’ve thrown this much money at this with no plan and it’s crazy to me, and to be quite honest, it’s embarrassing.”
Baty said he’s meeting with one of the candidates for governor next week and will make the Northwest Expressway part of their conversation.
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