“We’ll prosecute,” said Rech, who estimates the after-dark destruction has cost his Atlantic, Iowa, firm $10,000.

Rech said he didn’t expect that a rural Kansas location would pose such a problem for his firm. But it has. And this rural Kansas location is just a few miles northeast of Tonganoxie, where Stranger Creek meanders below the Tonganoxie Cliffs.

The only time that Rech has hired a security firm to watch over a construction project during off-hours was when he was working in downtown Chicago. Understandable. But rural Tonganoxie?

Officials with the company that owns the barricades set up to warn motorists of the bridge work are mystified. “We’ve got projects all over the state of Kansas, and I have had more trouble with this job than anywhere else,” said Greg Leonard of Tri-State Traffic Control.

Often, rural locations are attractive to people who want a secluded spot to party. This site is no different.

An occasional party is one thing. Criminal activity is another.

It’s inexcusable for someone to cost a firm $10,000 by taking and damaging equipment and delaying work.