The best way to slash the number of accidents on U.S. Highway 59 is to build a new four-lane freeway alongside the current road between Lawrence and Ottawa, the Federal Highway Administration has decided.

In a decision to be made public today, the department has concluded that building a $210.3 million freeway about 300 feet east of the 18-mile stretch connecting the two cities would be the best option.

The decision overturns the state’s original preference to build a new freeway about a mile east of the existing highway, a route that would have been expected to cost less, displace fewer homes and run through fewer businesses.

By choosing the closer route, the federal agency decided that the new freeway âÂÂ:”slated to open in 2009 âÂÂ:” would avoid areas where two threatened plant species either are known to reside or are likely to live, said Mike Bowen, division administrator for the agency’s Kansas region.

Going farther east also would have cut into the number of vehicles likely to use the freeway, he said, which would leave more drivers on the existing U.S. 59, which is slated to be preserved as a local street. And with the existing highway already deemed to be dangerous enough to justify a more than $200 million replacement, it makes the most sense to keep as many cars as possible from driving on it.

“It’s one of those decisions that probably could have gone either way, but this was just the decision that was made,” Bowen said Monday afternoon. “The main thing here is that the road is very much needed. We need to improve safety in the state of Kansas. And this is one facility that is needed.”

State officials say the road’s accident rate is 25 percent higher than those on similar highways elsewhere in Kansas. Building the freeway would be expected to cut the rate of fatal accidents by 80 percent and trim the injury-accident rate by 60 percent.

Copies of the federal agency’s decision âÂÂ:”in the form of a comprehensive final environmental impact statement âÂÂ:” are scheduled to be delivered today to area libraries and government offices. The public will have until Jan. 24 to make comments about the document and its repercussions.

The agency is expected to issue its record of decision âÂÂ:” the formal authorization to begin road construction âÂÂ:” soon thereafter. Bowen, a 29-year agency veteran, said it was unlikely the decision about the route would change.

“I’m not aware of any project that’s been changed in the past at this point,” said Bowen, who took over the Topeka office two weeks ago.

As envisioned, the freeway would displace 33 homes and eight businesses. Surveying for the project would begin early next year.

The Kansas Department of Transportation estimates the project would require acquisition of 960 acres of land. That process is scheduled to begin in fall 2005.

Marty Matthews, a transportation department spokesman, said the department’s engineers and other officials considered dozens of public comments before agreeing with the determination of Bowen’s office.

The Franklin-Douglas County Coalition of Concerned Citizens compiled and delivered its own version of an environmental impact statement to document its opposition to building a freeway instead of weighing other, less costly alternatives. Douglas County commissioners also weighed in, voting their support for the route 300 feet east of the existing road.

Department officials listened and learned, Matthews said.

“It’s a long, drawn-out process, but you get lots of comments, and it helps you make the best decision,” he said.

Ken Lassman, a leader for the coalition of freeway opponents, said his group already had a meeting scheduled for Sunday to map out strategies. Today’s release of the decision should make for some lively conversation.

“We want to make sure the state did their job in terms of finding everything that would be impacted on the eastern alignment,” Lassman said. “We’re definitely interested in seeing the details, because the devil’s in the details.”