Kasold Drive is set to become a construction magnet for the next several years.

City officials during the past year approved two projects to the major north-south arterial that are designed to improve traffic flow and shore up aging sections of the road.

The first project will be a $3.7 million rebuilding of Kasold Drive from 15th Street to 22nd Street. The entire stretch of four-lane road will receive new pavement and a new grass median. City Manager Mike Wildgen said the time had simply come for the road to be rebuilt. The road’s base had begun to deteriorate, creating excessive numbers of potholes.

“It is 30 to 35 years old,” Wildgen said. “It served us well for a long time.”

Drivers may notice one significant change to the road. Each lane of traffic will be narrowed from its existing 12-foot width to 11 feet. Chuck Soules, director of public works for the city, said the features were part of an effort to create a more residential design for the roadway.

“It is really a driver perception issue,” Soules said. “If they feel like they don’t have as much room to maneuver, they’ll drive a little slower. But it doesn’t create any safety issues. There’s still plenty of room for them to maneuver.”

The project also will include an 8-foot sidewalk on the west side of the road. The sidewalk is planned to link into the city’s network of walking and biking trials.

Work to relocate utilities along the stretch of road is expected to begin this year, but major construction on the road likely will not begin until 2006, Wildgen said. The road construction is expected to take seven to nine months.

The second project slated for Kasold Drive is a rebuilding of the road north of Peterson Road to the Kansas Turnpike Bridge. Wildgen said new residential development in the area had increased traffic counts on the road.

“It is a growth area right now,” Wildgen said. “It has seen increased demand for a better road system.”

City commissioners in January approved an estimated $1.8 million project that will include building a 20-foot lane in each direction with a grass median. The project also will include roundabouts at Tillerman and Grand Vista drives. It will feature a recreation path on one side and a sidewalk on the other, along with curbs and gutters.

Currently the road has two narrow lanes, no sidewalks or curbs and gutters. The project has been in the city’s plans since 1999.

“Now is really the time for us to bring this road up to city standards,” Soules said.

Soules said residential development in the northwest part of the city was expected to cause the number of vehicles on the road to increase from roughly 3,000 per day currently to more than 15,000 by the year 2025.

An exact timeline for construction of the road hasn’t been set yet, Wildgen said. The project currently is being designed and construction work may not begin until 2007. Kansas Department of Transportation officials have committed to pay for 80 percent of the construction costs, with the rest funded by the city.