A few blocks of Tennessee Street and Eighth Street will be closed starting Monday for continuing work on the Jayhawk watershed project.
Tennessee will be fully closed at Eighth Street, and it will be closed to through traffic from Sixth to Ninth streets starting Monday, April 21, according to a news release from the city.
Traffic on Tennessee will be detoured to Vermont Street. Emergency vehicles and residents will still be able to access the area.
Eighth Street also will be closed from Ohio to Kentucky streets, according to the release. The closure will last through midsummer, pending weather or other delays.
“The closure will allow crews to replace aging underground pipes, improve stormwater flow, and install new infrastructure that will help keep streets and neighborhoods safe and dry during heavy rain events,” according to the release. “These improvements are crucial for protecting public and private property, as well as ensuring long-term infrastructure reliability in downtown Lawrence and the surrounding neighborhoods.”
The watershed project aims to deal with flooding in key areas, such as low-lying streets and alleys between West Eighth and Ninth streets, the intersection of Ninth and Indiana streets and the alleys north of Ninth Street between Tennessee and Indiana streets, according to info from the city. It will require workers to dig a 20-foot-deep trench along parts of Indiana and Ninth streets. Learn more on the project website at this link.
Lawrence city commissioners in October approved reconfiguring Ninth Street to three lanes from four between Illinois and Kentucky streets as part of the project. The plan aims to enhance safety and accessibility for all modes of transportation, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. It includes wider bike lanes with physical buffers to make cycling safer and a wider parking lane to improve ease of parking and maintain traffic flow.
Work will start on Ninth and Mississippi streets in early May, according to a previous update from the city.
The city anticipates the multiphase project will last through the end of 2026, pending weather or other delays.
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