Potholes

The access road connecting U.S. Highway 36 to the City of St. Francis is currently in a severely deteriorated and unsafe condition due to years of deferred maintenance. This roadway serves as the primary entrance into the community and is used daily by residents, visitors, and commercial traffic.

For several years, the City of St. Francis sought clarification and action from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) regarding responsibility for the access road. During that time, KDOT maintained that it was not responsible for the roadway, despite later granting permission for utility infrastructure to be installed beneath it. After nearly four years of correspondence and legal involvement, KDOT ultimately acknowledged its responsibility.

KDOT has since proposed performing a two-inch mill and overlay on the access road, with work tentatively scheduled for next year. This proposal requires that, once the work is completed, the City of St. Francis assume full ownership and long-term responsibility for the roadway. The proposal was presented as a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

Before making a decision, the City held a public meeting on November 24 and shared findings from an independent engineering firm based in Kearney, Nebraska. The engineers determined that, due to extensive deterioration and structural failure, a minimum six-inch mill and overlay is required to properly and safely repair the roadway. Based on this professional assessment, the City and its residents determined that KDOT’s proposed repair would be a short-term fix that does not address the underlying problems and would leave local taxpayers responsible for a much larger future reconstruction project. As a result, the City declined the offer.

The access road remains in hazardous condition, with numerous potholes measuring six to seven inches deep. These conditions pose a risk to public safety, damage vehicles, and negatively affect tourism, business development, and the overall perception of St. Francis as a welcoming community.

The video on this page documents the current condition of the access road and illustrates why this issue is a significant concern for residents and local leaders. The City and Cheyenne County continue to advocate for a long-term, engineering-based solution that ensures public safety and fair treatment for a rural Kansas community.