As many as 11 Kansas Department of Transportation employees may be affected if a decision is made to close KDOT’s area office in Iola.
Wayne Gudmonson, District 4 engineer, which encompasses Allen County, said no decision has been made, but it has been strongly considered.
The area office is responsible for such things as coordinating road construction projects in southeast Kansas.
Iola’s KDOT maintenance department — tasked with clearing roads and doing road repair projects — would remain in place.
With the state’s T-WORKS project nearing completion, “there’s not a lot of activity anticipated in the Iola area,” Gudmonson said.
“This hasn’t been a quick decisions,” he continued. “It’s something we’ve really thought hard about. As a steward of taxpayer dollars, we have to make sure we’re being efficient with our personnel and equipment.”
Two directors, two engineers and as many as seven other employees are a part of Iola’s area office, Gudmonson said.
“We have a couple of pending retirements,” he said. Other employees would be absorbed in other KDOT offices. “Nobody will lose their jobs.”
If the office were to close, it likely would be during fiscal year 2017, with a potential closing date of May or June 2018.
“It will not close in fiscal year 2016,” Gudmonson said.
The area office opened in Iola in 1946.
