Geary USD 475 is working toward the goal of building a new Junction City High School on the west side of the city.

Traffic patterns, ingress and egress to the site were topics for a joint session of Junction City, Geary County and USD 475 officials on Monday.

There will more safety needs along K-18 Highway when the new high school is built nearby. The current KDOT Geary County Corridor Plan includes putting in a new roundabout on K-18 near the school site,  but there is no funding allotted for that type of work.

Junction City Mayor Pat Landes noted the school will be on a state highway. “So we need to look at ways to slow down traffic, especially for student drivers and things to keep everybody safe. So it’s not just a matter of building a school but looking at everything else around it, police and fire and also the safety of the kids.”

To get funding help from the State the City or County would have to be an applicant for money, with the chances of getting help ranging anywhere from zero to 100%. Elected officials were informed the odds are higher if there is participation from the agencies in an application. They also learned there could possibly be an opportunity to combine two KDOT plans together for an 80-20 split on the project, with KDOT in that event probably wanting a larger roundabout for safety reasons.

Nothing is final at this point. The topics receiving attention on Monday were merely ideas and thoughts of those attending the meeting. There were no commitments to any action.