Kansas Turnpike Tornado Shelters Offer Another Option For Severe Weather Safety

Published: 

Apr 28 2016 02:30 PM EDT

By Sean Breslin

weather.com

It’s a Safe Haven for Drivers in Kansas

Kansas has 30 storm shelters along the 236-mile Kansas Turnpike, which runs right through tornado alley. 

Along the Kansas Turnpike are 30 doors that might not look like much, but inside those doors are storm shelters that may save dozens of lives in a tornado emergency.
That's the hope of the Kansas Turnpike Authority, a group that installed these fortified underground bunkers along the 236-mile-long highway in 2015 as a last-ditch option for drivers caught in the severe weather of Tornado Alley.
Each of these shelters can hold roughly 15 people, according to Fox4KC.com, while additional shelters located under some toll booths can hold more than that.
"We have tornado shelters at all of the plazas, and they're mainly for our employees and any customers that would be in the general area," Kansas Highway Patrol Master Trooper Karl Koenig told Fox4KC.com. "Simply open them up by a door, there's steps to go down in there, and there's a small wind turbine on top that provides air when the doors shut."
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But it might be some time before all of the turnpike's drivers come around to the idea of abandoning their vehicle and running into one of these shelters. Some truck drivers still believe it's best to continue driving and get out of the way of the storm.
"My chances are pretty good of outrunning that sucker," said truck driver Martha Padgett in the Fox4KC.com report.
And although this is certainly a reliable safe haven from severe weather for drivers, officials want local residents to know that they're safest staying at home.
"If you can find somewhere around your house, your basement, we do not want you leaving your home if that tornado is getting close. Do not leave your home trying to drive somewhere," said Lt. Josh Kellerman of the Kansas Highway Patrol in an interview with KSN.com.
All of the Kansas Turnpike's storm shelters are listed on the Authority's website, and its Facebook page provides fans with important weather safety tidbits almost daily.