Ninth Street is currently blocked to all through traffic from Louisiana to Indiana Streets, and the City of Lawrence plans to extend the closure west toward Mississippi Street.
Starting Monday, Feb. 16, all of eastbound and westbound Ninth Street traffic will be blocked between Louisiana and Mississippi Streets, although the latter road will still be open to northbound and southbound traffic.
The work is rolled into the Jayhawk Watershed Project, an initiative to improve drainage and reduce flooding through Old West Lawrence, Ninth Street and the surrounding area.
The city said in a news release that its contractors successfully installed new storm sewer tunnel infrastructure from Ninth and Indiana Streets to Eighth and Tennessee Streets.
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“Crews will continue installing inlets and branch lines that connect to the new storm tunnel so that the old storm sewer can be abandoned,” per the release.
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The city is asking motorists to follow marked detours and signage.
By mid-March, the city expects contractors to start working on the alley between Indian and Louisiana Streets on the north side of Ninth Streets.
During the March work, “pedestrians traveling west along 9th Street will need to use the sidewalk on the south side of 9th Street to travel west, and cross north at Mississippi St. to access businesses on the north side. This routing is expected to remain in place until April.”
Come April, the north sidewalk will be reopened to pedestrian traffic while the south sidewalk is closed for work on that side of the street.
The project team surveyed a limited group of Ninth Street business owners and employees over closure phasing. Ultimately, city commissioners approved a plan where portions of Ninth Street would remain closed solidly through summer 2026 without opening for the World Cup.
Businesses along this stretch of the street remain open, although some of them are concerned about customer access and impacts to profits even as they acknowledge the importance of the construction work. Read more reporting on that topic here.
In January, the city added temporary slanted parking spaces in the middle of Ninth Street to help customers access businesses. Parking is free in those spots.
People can stay updated on the project and closures on the city’s website here.
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Find more Lawrence Times coverage of construction work at this link.
Further information about construction projects in Lawrence is available via the city’s website at lawrenceks.org/construction/. The city’s interactive map of construction projects is available here.
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This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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More coverage: Getting around Lawrence
Expanding construction will close 9th Street from Indiana to Mississippi Street
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