A Douglas County road is about to get a $30,000 makeover after summertime drought left too many wrinkles and pockmarks in its smooth surface.

A couple of mile-long sections of County Road 1055 — between 31st Street and the Wakarusa River, and between North 500 and North 600 roads — are targeted for pavement repairs next month.

It appears that summer’s scorching temperatures and lack of rain sapped the ground beneath the road of its usual moisture, said Keith Browning, county engineer and director of public works.

Cracking soils opened up fissures in the road surface, creating pavement so uneven that emergency repairs were deemed necessary.

“We’ve put up a warning sign to let people know it is rough,” Browning said. “Hopefully people will drive accordingly.”

The road, which is the extension of Haskell Avenue south of Lawrence, carries about 4,200 vehicles a day.

Fixing the stretch north of the river is expected to cost up to $30,000, Browning said, because the county intends to hire a contractor to handle the work.

Repairing the portion between North 500 and North 600 roads, just north of Baldwin, will cost less because county crews will handle the paving portion of the job.

Both projects are expected to affect traffic for two days in mid- to late October, Browning said. During repairs, flag crews will be on the site to ensure that one lane of traffic will be open.

Douglas County is preparing to spend up to 0,000 to repave parts of Douglas County Road 1055 south of 31st Street. A section of road considered for repair is just south of this sign along County Road 1055.

The repairs will be designed to handle traffic safely through the winter season, when ice and snow could make uneven pavement even more treacherous than usual, Browning said.

But a more permanent overhaul won’t be considered until the county learns more about the fate of proposed completion of the South Lawrence Trafficway, Browning said. The trafficway, which would run along a 32nd Street alignment through the northern edge of the Baker Wetlands, would include relocation and reconstruction of 1055 north of the river.

The county is waiting to see whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers clears a regulatory route for the trafficway’s completion, and whether the Kansas Department of Transportation will spend the estimated $110.2 million to get the job done.

Corps officials hope to have their decision filed within a few weeks, but the county can’t afford to wait on 1055 with cold weather approaching.

“It’s a portion of road that we don’t want to spend a lot of money on at this time, but we need to do something,” Browning said. “It will smooth it out, and it won’t be a permanent fix, but we need to do something.”