Why isn’t the City using local contractors on the South Atchison Trail project?

The South Atchison Trail project is being administered by KDOT due to the 1.17 million of Federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant funding that the project received. The project was competitively bid and KDOT selected the best and lowest bid from a qualified general contractor, that being Kansas Heavy Construction out of Tonganoxie, Kansas. Neither the City of Atchison nor KDOT determines which sub-contractors or suppliers are used throughout the duration of the project by the general contractor, although there are stringent quality control measures in place to ensure their work and products are of the highest quality.