Commuters driving the Kansas Turnpike between the Lecompton interchange and East Topeka exit will see early stages of construction when they head to work Monday.

But officials with the Kansas Turnpike Authority said the $53.8 million project wouldn’t affect people driving the stretch of road.

“We’re going to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction,” said Tom Wurdeman, chief engineer for the Kansas Turnpike Authority.

The 14-mile project will widen Interstate 70 to six lanes from four. Wurdeman said road crews would begin work Monday at the east end of the project, near the Lecompton interchange, if weather permitted.

Highway officials say the road needs to be widened to handle increasing traffic. The road between the Lecompton and East Topeka exits is the busiest stretch of I-70 in the state, with average daily traffic of 35,000 vehicles.

“In the summer, that’s higher,” Wurdeman said. “It also is more around the holidays. In order to maintain the road, we need to widen it.”

The project should be completed by spring of 2007 and will be paid for with revenue from turnpike tolls.

As the KTA begins its project, road crews for the Kansas Department of Transportation continue work on about 2 miles of road along U.S. Highway 40 west of Lawrence.

KDOT is widening the highway to four lanes from Wakarusa Drive to near where it intersects with Kansas Highway 10, said spokesman Steve Swartz. U.S. Highway 40 has an annual daily traffic count of about 15,000 vehicles a day. It also is a route for commuters to and from Topeka.

6News video: Major turnpike construction to begin

The project should accommodate traffic growth on the west side of Lawrence as well as add safety improvements, Swartz said. The project will cost $14.5 million.

“It’s a hilly section of road,” he said. “Some of the hills will be cut down to improve the sight distance for drivers.”

The project also includes adding medians to separate lanes of traffic.