Corps releases SLT environmental impact statement

A roadmap for completing the South Lawrence Trafficway hits the streets today.

The project’s draft environmental impact statement, compiled for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, includes recommendations that the proposed four-lane highway connecting U.S. Highway 59 and Kansas Highway 10 be built along one of two routes:

For more about the draft environmental impact statement, tune in to 6News at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday on Sunflower Broadband channel 6, and check out stories in Friday’s Journal-World.

  • A 32nd Street alignment, through the Baker Wetlands south of Haskell Indian Nations University, at an estimated cost of $105 million.
  • A 42nd Street alignment, south of the Wakarusa River, at an estimated cost of nearly $130 million.

The document more than 1,000 pages, filling three, three-ring binders will provide justification for the corps to select a final route for the trafficway around southeast Lawrence. The corps’ approval is necessary because either route would cut through wetlands, which the corps regulates.

The corps intends to accept public comments about the document and the trafficway project. The formal public comment period begins Aug. 16, and continues through Sept. 30.

After that, the corps will compile a final document choosing one route for the trafficway’s completion and open another 30-day period for public comment. The corps intends to have its final decision settled by the end of the year.

Copies of the draft document will be available for review within the next week at area public libraries. By Aug. 30, a summary is expected to be posted online at www.southlawrencetrafficway.org.