(Dodge City, KS) (westernkansasnews.com)  Kansas Department of Transportation officials are encouraging Dodge City and Garden City area residents to participate in an online survey regarding the proposed expansion to four lanes of Highway-50 between Cimarron and Dodge City.  The survey can be accessed at www.us50survey1.com. 

KDOT engineers hosted two public workshops last week that were well attended by local residents who live along that stretch of the Highway-50 corridor.  KDOT Engineer Larry Thompson says state transportation officials collected input from residents who pointed out where septic systems lie along the corridor as well as a possible historic grave.  Thompson says that when engineers encounter a historic site, be it pioneer or Native American, work is temporarily halted until a determination is made on the site’s significance and whether or not it will be excavated.

KDOT will continue to gather input on the $69-million project for at least another year.  Construction is slated to begin in 2018 and take approximately 2-years to complete.