A boy remained in critical condition Monday after being struck by a trailer Saturday near the corner of Locust and North Second streets.

William Baker, 15, was airlifted to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. He suffered severe leg injuries.

The dip in the pavement at the intersection that may have caused the trailer to hop the curb and hit William is a problem that city street officials plan to fix next year.

“Some people call it a dip. Some people call it a bump,” said Lawrence Public Works Director Chuck Soules. “There is a displacement in the pavement that does cause some jarring of the vehicles as they cross it, if they’re exceeding the speed limit.”

The bump is nearly invisible to northbound motorists who hit it after driving north across the Kansas River bridge.

“We do have an advanced warning sign there that identifies the bump with a cautionary, or advisory, speed limit which is slower than the posted speed limit,” Soules said. “I do know that people tend to go through it a little bit faster.”

Work on the city’s planned fix for the bump is not slated to begin until October 2007. The Kansas Department of Transportation will be paying for 80 percent of the upgrade’s cost.

Soules said the city has different options for repairing the dip.

The options will be presented to Lawrence residents at a public meeting sometime this month, though a date has not yet been selected.