A pair of Lawrence businessmen have started a group they hope will help persuade federal and state transportation officials to complete the South Lawrence Trafficway along a route through the Baker Wetlands.

Bennett Griffin, president of Griffin Technologies, and Sam Campbell, president of Campbell-Becker Inc., have formed a group, as yet unnamed, comprised mainly of Lawrence business owners and managers who believe the uncompleted trafficway is hindering Lawrence’s ability to become a part of the high-tech business growth that is occurring in the Kansas City metro area.

“The technology industry has a vested interest to get this road built,” said Griffin, who also is president of the Lawrence Technology Assn. “There is a growing regional technology industry in the Kansas City area, and Lawrence is working hard to be a part of that. But the reality is we have to have the infrastructure to get from one area to the other.”

Campbell said the group had about 30 members at its first meeting about 10 days ago. He said the main purpose of the group would be to encourage people who support a 32nd Street route for the trafficway to attend Thursday’s public hearing on the project. The hearing, conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will be at 6:30 p.m. at Building 21 of the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper St.

“I think up to this point there has been a vocal minority out there who have voiced opposition to the project,” Campbell said. “We think now is the time to get the rest of the citizens to stand up and get this project done.”

Griffin said the stakes particularly are high for the life sciences industry, which hopes to capitalize off the Stowers Institute, a major life sciences research facility in Kansas City, Mo.

“For the life sciences, the Stowers Institute is the king because they are the one with the $2 billion endowment,” Griffin said. “With KU here, we have every reason to think we can be a part of it, but we have to have the infrastructure to get back and forth to Kansas City because that’s where your $2 billion endowment is.”

Campbell agreed. He and several other partners are working to develop a new 17-acre life sciences research park around the former campus of Oread Inc., near 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive. Campbell said for the moment he was still upbeat about Lawrence’s ability to attract life science companies, but he worries about the future.

“The whole strategy is for firms across the region to work closely together,” Campbell said. “But it takes a significant amount of time to get from west Lawrence to east Lawrence. It takes almost as much time as it does to get from east Lawrence to Johnson County.

“We seem to be making it extremely difficult for people to work together. I’m afraid it will reach the point where people won’t make the effort if we keep throwing up barriers.”

Bob Eye, an attorney who represents the Wetland Preservation Organization, which opposes a 32nd Street route for the trafficway, said he was skeptical the uncompleted trafficway is hurting Lawrence business growth.

“I guess I’d need to see the proof,” Eye said. “I can only point to the fact that Lawrence has grown substantially without a road running through the wetlands. Lawrence has so much going for it that I’m confident it is going to grow without a road running through the wetlands in the future.”

The 32nd Street plan for the trafficway would build the road slightly south of the existing 31st Street through the portion of the Baker Wetlands that currently contains the boardwalk area. The plan also includes mitigation that would enlarge the wetlands area, build a wetlands education center and give some land back to adjacent Haskell Indian Nations University.

The trafficway is designed to connect Interstate 70 west of Lawrence to Kansas Highway 10 east of Lawrence. The western portion of the road currently is open from I-70 to Iowa Street, but the eastern section remains uncompleted.