Time and cracking have taken their toll on the asphalt roads the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation maintains on its reservation in Jackson County, but recently announced federal funding will help address that.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the tribe a $17.1 million grant, which will enable it to make improvements that include patching, repairing and overlaying the pavement on 27 miles of road.
The federally financed work will be part of a four-phrase infrastructure project by the tribe that will "positively impact the lives of its residents for years to come," said tribal chairman Joseph "Zeke" Rupnick.
Casino gaming brought Potawatomi more paved roads
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is a federally recognized tribe with 1,760 residents. Its reservation encompasses 121 square miles and has more than 120 miles of roads, which have driving surfaces of asphalt, gravel or dirt, the tribe's website said.
It said the Bureau of Indian Affairs financed the construction in 1997 of the reservation's first blacktop road.
The following year, the tribe opened a casino, which it maintains at 12305 150th Road.
"When the PBPN added casino gaming, which boosted tribal profits, much of the money in the general funds was devoted to the reservation infrastructure," the tribe's website said.
Source: cjonline.com
Photo Credit: gettyimages-zms
Categories: Kansas, General