Crossing the planned U.S. Highway 59 with a new bridge along North 200 Road would serve a handful of farmers and rural residents.

And it would cost about $1.4 million.

“I don’t care,” said Dorthea Jackson, who owns 80 acres of farmland nearby and supports installation of a bridge. “It’s gonna happen. It’s better for it to happen now, rather than 10 years from now.

“It’s inevitable. It will need to be provided and there will never be a cheaper time.”

Such declarations are being welcomed by engineers with the Kansas Department of Transportation, who are penciling out plans for the new $210 million project between Lawrence and Ottawa.

Bob Wandel, the state’s top engineer on the project, came to Lawrence on Monday to discuss options with members of the Douglas County Commission. Department officials are seeking input to help shape how and where side streets will — or will not — be connected to the new four-lane freeway, which is scheduled to open in 2009.

The state’s early drawings include interchanges at U.S. Highway 56, County Road 460 and County Road 458, also known as Wells Overlook Road. The freeway would be crossed, but not intersected, along North 1, North 150 and North 900 roads.

Another crossing could be considered along North 200 Road, Wandel said, to help serve area farmers and others. Commissioners also inquired about adding another crossing at North 500 or North 550 roads, to cut across an unbroken 3.5-mile stretch of freeway.

Four interchanges and additional crossings also are planned for Franklin County.

“You can ask,” Wandel told commissioners. “We’ll take things into consideration and see where the dollars are.”

Commissioners don’t intend to rush to judgment. They plan to seek advice during a joint work session, to be convened by the end of July, from representatives of school districts, townships and emergency officials whose services would be affected by the new freeway.

6News video: Commissioners planning freeway options

Commissioners would accept public comment at the end of the meeting, then compile a list of requests for Wandel and other department officials to consider, said Charles Jones, commission chairman.

The commission’s goal: Get the recommendations factored into the state’s “field check” plans, which are due in March and will be used to calculate detailed cost estimates for the entire project.

The county’s list also would be intended to give officials room to negotiate. If the state would agree to add a $1.4 million bridge project, Jones said, the county might agree to finance connection of two new frontage roads to ease traffic flow.

“To get what we want, we’ll probably have to put something on the table,” Jones said.

Freeway construction is expected to begin in 2007. The four-lane freeway generally will run along a path 300 feet east of the existing U.S. 59, which will be rebuilt as needed and transformed into an access road.

The project is being designed to improve safety along the 18-mile stretch of U.S. 59, where the accident rate is 25 percent higher than on similar highway in the state. Department officials say the freeway should cut the rate of fatality accidents by 80 percent and trim the injury-accident rate by 60 percent.