A local resident’s complaints about motorists turning off the South Lawrence Trafficway and driving toward his home hoping the gravel road would take them into the city is a reminder of the need to connect West 15th Street to the trafficway.

Although this connection was part of the original trafficway plans, rising costs for the road construction forced the 15th Street interchange to the back burner, where it has remained for several years — with the costs continuing to escalate.

A local man who lives on North 1500 Road appealed to Douglas County commissioners last week for permission to install a gate east of the road’s intersection with the trafficway to prevent motorists from driving down his long driveway. The gate would solve the resident’s problem, but it won’t solve the problem for motorists seeking a connection to George Williams Way or 15th Street in west Lawrence.

The county could spend $1.4 million to rebuild 1500 Road and connect it to George Williams Way, but what really is needed is a $7.3 million interchange that would connect the trafficway to 15th Street. The connection would provide improved access for residents of the area, but it is even more important to the business and commercial area at 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive and to the west.

The section of 15th Street west of Wakarusa was designed and built to carry traffic loads much larger than it currently handles. In addition to access to west Lawrence, a 15th Street connection to the trafficway could provide an important avenue to and from Kansas University, especially during peak event times.

It’s also too bad that a 15th Street interchange wasn’t scheduled in time to carry some of the western traffic load while construction is under way to widen and improve U.S. Highway 40 (Sixth Street) west of Wakarusa Drive. Construction in that area is sure to create a serious bottleneck.

It’s unfortunate that the eastern leg of the trafficway has been stymied by protests and lack of funding. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issuance of a permit to build the road on a 32nd Street alignment doesn’t clear the way to start construction, but it may bring the issue to a head by pushing the matter into the courts.

Given the tight state budget and the legal problems facing the trafficway, it may be hard to convince the state to invest any money in a 15th Street interchange right now, but there is no reason to hold up the interchange until the eastern leg of the trafficway is finished. Building the interchange will provide an important link to KU and western Lawrence that will benefit the community now and in the future. City and county officials shouldn’t let the project linger on the back burner any longer.