The Piper Creek bridge replacement project began May 1 in Kansas City, Kan., and will continue through September. (KDOT photo)
On Thursday, May 1, a project began to replace the bridge on southbound U.S. 73-K-7 over Piper Creek (located between Leavenworth Road and Parallel Parkway) in Wyandotte County.
Project work includes replacing the existing 24-foot (2 12-foot lanes only) slab bridge structure with a 40-foot (2 12-foot lanes with 8-foot shoulders) haunch slab structure, according to a Kansas Department of Transportation spokesman. Work will take place Monday through Friday during daylight hours.
Crews will begin by installing traffic control and temporary traffic signals at U.S. 73-K-7 and Leavenworth Road intersection. Then sometime in mid-May, northbound and southbound U.S. 73-K-7 traffic will be placed side by side, one lane each direction, in the northbound U.S. 73-K-7 lanes from Parallel Parkway to Donahoo Road throughout the project duration.
Traffic will be directed via signs, cones and arrow boards through the project work zone. There will be a posted speed limit of 55 mph through the project work zone throughout the project duration.
Drivers should expect delays, primarily during heavy peak time commutes, throughout the project duration. Updated traffic information for this project and all Kansas City Metro projects can be viewed online at: www.ksdot.org/kcmetro/laneclose.asp.
Pyramid Contractors of Olathe, Kan., is the primary contractor on this bridge replacement project with a total contract cost of $1.844 million. The scheduled completion date for the entire project is late September 2014, weather permitting.
This project is funded by T-WORKS, the transportation program passed by the Kansas Legislature in May 2010. Find out more about this and other T-WORKS projects at: http://kdotapp.ksdot.org/TWorks/.
Our Sassy Pantry makes its bacon jam and other products in Kansas City, Kan.
by William Crum
Kansas City, Kan., is known not just for barbecue, but also for bacon.
Our Sassy Pantry, based in Wyandotte County, has put this area on the bacon map with its bacon jam.
At the Bacon Fest held annually, Our Sassy Pantry competed and won first place. It was its first year in the competition.
They entered their bacon jam on such items as macaroni and cheese, and they also used the bacon jam on a bacon and tomato sandwich.
There were more than 100 vendors who competed for this honor, and Our Sassy Pantry received high national recognition for its efforts. It has resulted in invitations to be on some local television and radio stations.
Our Sassy Pantry is owned by Marisa Roberts and Kay Findlay. Marisa Roberts moved to Wyandotte County in 1999 where she opened a catering company. Eventually she teamed up with her business partner, Kay Findlay, where they developed bacon jams giving them national acclaim. Marisa is the daughter-in-law of the late Clay (Bud) Roberts, who was well known in Kansas City, Kan.
Our Sassy Pantry bacon jams are now in various grocery stores in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
”I really love being from Wyandotte County. It is truly a culinary experience and both my husband and I really enjoy living here. We really look forward to being part of the Wyandotte County experience, it is amazing,” Marissa Roberts said.
Our Sassy Pantry offers four types of jams. Their products include a bacon jam which is known nationally, their Ancho cherry jam, their wicked tomato jam and their balsamic blueberry jam. Even though the bacon jam is known nationally, the other jams are also getting national and world recognition as well. Culinary experts agree that these jams are a unique discovery.
For more information on where to get the jams, go to the website www.oursassypantry.com.
A University of Kansas student from Kansas City, Kan., has received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
The scholarship, awarded to 13 KU students in all, will allow students to study overseas.
Lynne Yang, a KU junior from Kansas City, Kan., will study in China.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad program costs. The Gilman program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go by supporting undergraduates who might otherwise not study abroad due to financial constraints.
