In 1989, the Kansas Legislature approved corridor highway projects that connected Wichita to central Kansas with K-96. In 2012 the Kansas Department of Transportation identified a new diagonal passage for K-96 in Reno and Rice counties as a priority. The new stretch of road would connect Hutchinson to north of Sterling, bypassing Nickerson and Sterling. The project was dropped as K-DOT funding was pulled to balance the Kansas General Budget.
Peters hopes the regional support will show the task force that this project is still needed.
(Read more: Great Bend Post)