The economic development history of Harvey County is tied to transportation, particularly along its railroad lines.

Rail Transportation

Rail transportation remains an important component of the County’s economy—the BNSF and Union Pacific and a local short line traverse the County and several local businesses are geared toward supporting these lines.

The Kansas Logistics Park in Newton, Kansas has two sites that have been designated as BNSF Certified Sites. BNSF certification ensures a site is ready for rapid acquisition and development through a comprehensive evaluation of existing and projected infrastructure, environmental and geotechnical standards, utility evaluation and site availability.

BNSF Certified Sites are a part of the Premier Parks, Sites and Transload program which is a strategic approach to addressing the increasing demand for customer site locations by developing various types of facilities across the BNSF network. BNSF Certified Sites have been reviewed by an industry expert in order to ensure accurate reliable data.

Selecting a certified site can reduce development time, increase speed to market, and reduce upfront development risk of rail-served industrial sites.

Interstate Highways

Harvey County is served by I-35, which connects primary East-West (I-70) and North-South (I-35) corridors. The establishment of the Kansas Logistics Park in Newtown was undertaken specifically to capitalize on its central location and access to I‐35. Learn more about the Kansas Logistics Park here.

Highway 50

U.S. Route 50 (US-50) is a main east–west highway serving the southwest, central and northeastern parts of the state. US-50 serves Kansas City as well as (from west to east) Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchinson, Newton and Emporia.