The Geary County Commission is looking into a low water crossing across McDowell Creek near the Pressee Bridge.

The bridge failed earlier this year leaving farmers searching for ways to get across the creek to their land.

Commissioner Florence Whitebread explained that the bridge was providing access to land east of the creek that is land locked.

“It’s a land locked area because when Interstate 70 was built, it land locked this pasture. There’s a great deal of acres in it and there’s several owners,” Whitebread explained.

A simple solution that was denied by the state was to access the land through the west bound I-70 rest area, west of McDowell Creek.

“The state will not allow that and Kanza Prairie borders on one side of it.”

A temporary crossing has been put into place across the creek but they are looking to create a low water crossing.

“Kaw Valley Engineering is doing the engineering work on that and they think they can get the permits. They don’t issue very many permits for low water crossings anymore, but because of this land locked area and the situation it was created by, it was created by I-70, it looks it’s going to be very possible that we’re going to get those permits.”

The estimated cost for a low water crossing is $190,000.

Whitebread said that even though that cost may seem high the land and the cattle on it is income for the farmers that own it and a lot of those tax dollars come back to the county.

“We need to provide some kind of access and egress into that property. It wasn’t our fault and their fault that I-70 land locked it. It really makes a bad situation, you have to get people to their property some way.”

The cost of the crossing would be paid for out of the county’s special bridge funds, saving federal fund exchange money for black top work later in the fall.