Roads and Bridge Development
Road & Bridge Department in action.
The Road and Bridge Department maintains 119 miles of roads on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Reservation. The type of driving surface breaks down to 66 miles gravel, 34.5 asphalt and just under 20 miles of dirt roads. This equates to 67% of all reservation roads; the system roads cover the majority of the 121 square miles, Federal Recognized Reservation. And with Jackson County maintaining 33% mainly the far northern edge or boundary roads. The department has 15 employees; the majority are members of the PBP Nation. Many successful improvement projects, including upgrades of major roads to all-weather status, Bridge replacement and have been completed through the department in the last several years.
The Tribal Council has supported the growing need for quality infrastructure on the reservation, including roads and bridges. Twenty Two tribally funded bridges have been built in the last ten years to replace deficient and unsafe structures such as single lane, low weight limit wood plank bridges.
The very first Blacktop on the Reservation was built in 1997, 100% BIA funded. With the coming of Class III gaming, a vast amount of the Tribal General Funds were devoted to the Reservation Infrastructure. Many of the older Tribal members said growing up that the only time they got to go to town was when it rained or snowed, because they had to push.
In the past 25 years 29 BIA Bridges were built, in the past 11 years 25 Tribal Bridges have been built, all to HS-20 load rating. There are 14.2 miles of BIA funded and 16.5 miles of PBPNation funded reconstructed road miles to modern asphalt for a total of 30.7 miles. 5 Major Creeks, Big Soldier, Little Soldier, Crow, Dutch, and Big Elm are the main drainage watersheds, with many small tributaries dumping into the creeks.
Safety is the number one priority as in this current Federal Highway Authorization SAFTEALU.
The department has developed a long-range 20 year transportation plan for the reservation using advanced technology systems. A five-year plan implementing asphalt blacktop on reservation roads was made possible through Tribal General Revenue. Other major new Road Construction funding sources include the BIA IRR (Indian Reservation Roads). There are twelve BIA Regions nationwide for all the Indian Nations; we are in the BIA Southern Plains Regional Office, Anadarko, Oklahoma. These funds come from a distribution formula based on the Nations IRR Inventory of Road miles and Bridges. BIA PL-93-638 Self Determination Road Maintenance Contract is a portion used for upkeep, and seasonal snow and ice duties. The Federal Highway Administration provides funds from the Federal Gas Tax to the States and the BIA, The States portion has been used for the PBPN benefit. The portion called Transportation Enhancement KDOT receives paid for 80% of the 11.2 million dollar Interchange at 150 Road & U. S. 75 Highway, serving the Tribes Casino. In addition this funding paid for 85% of a 9000 foot Bike & Pedestrian Trail serving housing Clusters and the Pow Wow Grounds at Prairie Peoples Park. Tribal Capital Improvement Supplemental Budget and Tribal Fuel Tax. Road and Bridge Department employees are committed to making the reservation a better place through their continued dedication to road preservation and road system safety. For additional information call (785) 966-2375 or fax (785) 966-2693.