While we're confident the Kansas Department of Transportation is on the right track by placing permanent snow gates on Interstate 70, we believe KDOT is only halfway there.

During the past two weeks, transportation workers installed red-and-white cross arms that can be lowered manually if blizzard conditions force the interstate to close. The gates are positioned strategically at the Goodland, Colby, Oakley, WaKeeney, Hays and Russell exits.

The problem is they're only being installed on the westbound lanes. We're left to wonder why there's no attention being paid those eastbound motorists traveling through the same blizzards. Surely the same hazardous conditions will exist on the other side of the median.

It turns out KDOT officials are more concerned about the weather conditions in Colorado. More often than not, the typical four to six annual closures of I-70 in Kansas are due to blizzard conditions in the Rocky Mountain State. As hotel rooms fill up, the road closes farther and farther east for through travelers. Area residents generally are allowed to continue driving, provided the severe weather isn't actually in Kansas.

So, as a pilot project, it makes sense to prioritize the westbound lanes first.

But when KDOT officials tout the speed with which the gates can be closed as a storm approaches or their ability to withstand the elements (apparently the temporary barricades get blown over on a regular basis), then KDOT's talking about hazardous conditions in our state. And we'll go back to the original position: The weather is the same on the interstate no matter which direction a motorist is heading.

Much like the "cattle gates" that block access to the interstate in either direction, it makes sense to have snow gates on both sides to get people off the highway. We only can assume the state's pilot project will come to the same conclusion. It's a matter of safety.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net