The Kansas Department of Transportation will soon host an open house to share information about the upcoming South Lawrence Trafficway west leg expansion project.
The open house will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9 in the Southwest Middle School cafeteria, 2511 Inverness Drive in Lawrence.
“The open house will allow attendees to review project and construction information and speak one-on-one with staff,” according to a news release from KDOT. “There will be no formal presentation, and attendees can come and go at any time during the event.”
The west leg of the SLT is going to be expanded in two phases. First, the south project will widen the highway to four lanes, divided by a median, from the new diverging diamond interchange at U.S. 40/Sixth Street to the U.S. 59/Iowa Street interchange.
The project will also involve reconstructing key interchanges: Wakarusa Drive/West 27th Street, Clinton Parkway and U.S. 59.
Numerous fatal crashes have occurred over the years along the trafficway, which is part of Kansas Highway 10 (K-10). The segment that’s set for construction is currently one lane in each direction with no median.
“The public may notice minimal right-of-way and utility work currently happening,” according to KDOT. “Greater impacts to traffic are expected to begin in early 2025.”
The north phase of the project will focus on improvements from the interchanges with Interstate 70 and the Farmer’s Turnpike (North 1800 Road) south to the Sixth Street interchange. Current projections show construction work on that phase starting in the last quarter of 2025.
Douglas County Commission Chair Karen Willey, Lawrence Mayor Bart Littlejohn, Rep. Mike Amyx, KDOT project leaders and more community members gathered for a groundbreaking event Wednesday at LMH Health’s west campus to celebrate the start of the south phase.
KDOT in July awarded a $170.6 million bid to Emery Sapp & Sons Inc., who also completed the four-lane eastern portion of the South Lawrence Trafficway in 2016.
The information presented at the open house will be posted online on Thursday, Oct. 10. For more information or to view the open house materials once they’re posted, visit slt-ks.ksdot.gov.
Anyone who needs special assistance, hard copies of the presentation or wishes to talk with a project team member can call 816-527-2468 or info@slt-ks.org, according to the release.
A video of the groundbreaking ceremony is available on KDOT’s YouTube page at this link.
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