With an eye toward a pot of state money, the Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday will set priorities for future major road projects around town.

The highest-priced projects would require assistance from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s economic development fund, which sets aside as much as $2 million for highway and bridge construction “which has the potential to enhance significantly the income, employment, sales receipts and land values of the surrounding area,” Public Works Director Chuck Soules said in a memorandum.

The three projects Soules is recommending to commissioners:

• The extension of East Hills Drive to Franklin Road, and Franklin Road to Kansas Highway 10. Soules said the $2.5 million project might ease safety concerns for East Hills Business Park employees who get to and from work along a treacherous stretch of K-10 that has been the site of numerous fatal accidents in recent years.

“This is another way to get people in and out of that industrial park safely,” Soules told the Journal-World.

• Widening 31st Street to four lanes between Haskell Avenue and O’Connell Road. A 31st Street corridor study two years ago suggested the $4 million project would be needed, even if the South Lawrence Trafficway was completed nearby, to handle increasing traffic.
• Connecting 15th Street in west Lawrence to K-10 as it swings south and around town. That project would cost $6 million.

“It’s a large project that at some point will need to be done to ensure the continued development of that western part of town,” Soules said.

Of the three projects, Soules said that only the East Hills project was likely to be built by the city if the state didn’t offer help. Mayor Mike Rundle said he thought East Hills should be the top priority.

“It seems like we need to resolve SLT and 31st Street before improving” 31st Street, Rundle said.

“I think East Hills Business Park is more logical anyway,” he said. “It translates to economic development, and it’s a major issue that’s been identified as a safety concern.”

City Hall last year applied for — and received — similar economic development funding from KDOT, $500,000 to consolidate “curb cuts” for driveways along 23rd Street.

Such a recent grant, Soules said, would make it harder for the city to compete this year.

“We’re not anticipating being successful this year,” he said, “but you’ve got to keep your name in front of KDOT.”

Commissioners will take public comment and set their priorities at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.