Salina Lists $17.5 Million Holmes Road Improvement Project for Further Review

The City of Salina has identified a potential $17.5 million improvement project for Holmes Road, but the proposal remains preliminary and does not currently have an identified funding source.

The project appears in the city’s 2027 capital-planning presentation under “Projects for Further Review.” The city defines that category as projects that have been identified as potential needs but do not yet have a well-defined scope, cost estimate or financing source. In other words, the $17.5 million figure is a planning estimate, not an approved expenditure.

According to the presentation, the Holmes Road proposal would involve construction along approximately 3.5 miles of roadway.

The stated purpose is to bring the road to “Interim Standards” to support continued residential and other development along Salina’s eastern edge. The presentation lists the project cost at $17.5 million and the funding source as unknown.

The packet does not explain exactly what the interim-standard improvements would include. It does not specify whether the project would involve full widening, curbs and gutters, stormwater improvements, sidewalks, turn lanes, utility relocation or other roadway features.

The presentation also does not identify:

A construction schedule, a design schedule, a financing method, whether property acquisition would be required, which portions of Holmes Road would be completed first, whether developers would share any of the cost, and whether the project would be completed in phases

Because the project is listed under further review, commissioners would need additional engineering, financing and project-scope information before it could advance toward construction.

At $17.5 million, Holmes Road is the largest project with a stated cost in the city’s current “Projects for Further Review” list. The category also includes a potential Public Works campus, a Smoky Hill Museum expansion, a Bill Burke Park parking expansion and several projects whose costs remain undetermined.