(Flickr Photo by Jimmy Emerson)
A limited merger of the Kansas Turnpike Authority and KDOT recently passed the House, but leaders in the Kansas Senate seem interested in something a bit more comprehensive. Senate President Susan Wagle, a Republican from Wichita, says she’d like to examine how the KTA budget is spent and have the state oversee the agency. Senate Vice President Jeff King, an Independence Republican, says lawmakers need to ask if the transportation system is being run as efficiently as possible.
King says he believes an eventual merger of the KTA and KDOT will be the answer. During the recent House debate on a limited merger plan, some critics said the turnpike is running fine as it currently stands, and merging the agencies may not create the savings some lawmakers predict.