Riley County will receive two grants from the Kansas Department of Transportation to help with road and bridge improvements over the next few years.
The first grant will be dedicated to replacing a bridge located at 40th Avenue, which runs over McDowell Creek. Assistant county engineer Gary Rosewicz said that he expects the project to go to bid in 2013.
The value of the first grant is $480,000, with the county putting up the remaining $160,000 to completely fund the project.
The second grant will be used to replace guardrails on N. Otter Creek Road. KDOT will put up $500,000 with Riley County contributing the remaining $50,000 to completely fund the project.
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A bridge located northwest of Randolph is scheduled to be replaced next Monday.
The project is located between Peach Grove Rd. and North Otter Branch Rd. A section of Jerusalem Rd. will be closed to through traffic for the duration of the project.
Assistant county engineer Gary Rosewicz says that there are 120 working days on the project and that he expects the new bridge to be operational by April 2012.
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Riley County extension agent Gregg Eyestone announced that the Poinsettia Open House is just two weeks away.
A total of 66 cultivars of poinsettia will be on display for survey. A drawing will be held at the conclusion of the event in which 10 poinsettias will be given away to individuals who complete the survey.
The event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7, inside the greenhouses attached to Kansas State University’s Throckmorton Hall (located just north of the intersection of Claflin and Denison).
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The final Kansas 150 Lookback Lecture will feature Daniel D. Holt who will be presenting “Educating a General”. Holt was director of the Eisenhower Library and Muesum from 1990 to 2008. He will discuss the education of Dwight D Eisenhower, his Kansas roots, and connections.
The lecture will be held on Wednesday, November 30 at the Manhattan Public Library located at 629 Poytnz Ave.
The program is free and open to the public.
For more information contact the director of the Riley County historical museum Cheryl Collins at 785-565-6490.