Bethany Wells, 14, Lecompton, left, does homework in her lap as her sister, Elizabeth, 17, applies makeup while waiting for their school bus to leave Lecompton at dawn and make the long drive to Lawrence to cross the Kansas River and get to Perry-Lecompton High School in Perry. The Kansas River bridge at Lecompton is closed for repairs, resulting in longer bus rides to school for some students. The repairs are expected to keep the bridge closed until Aug. 10.

Perry-Lecompton High School students who live in Lecompton board a bus that will take them on a ride east to Lawrence, across the Kansas River and back west to Perry-Lecompton High School in Perry because of repairs that have closed the Kansas River bridge at Lecompton.

The people of Perry expect that Lecompton Road will take them to, well, Lecompton.

These days it won’t.

What was once at most a 4-mile trip between the two towns has turned into a more than 30-mile trek that includes a trip to either Topeka or Lawrence because of the closure of the Kansas River bridge between the two towns.

The bridge was closed for redecking in early March and will remain closed until at least Aug. 10, according to a contract Douglas County has with A.M. Cohron & Son Inc. The company bid $2.5 million for the work.

The closure and the long detour has locals inconvenienced and upset.

Costly for schools

For the Perry-Lecompton school district, the inconvenience can be measured in dollars – an extra $1,100 per day in fuel and other expenses – and in time. Students are spending more time on buses.

Most spend no more than an extra five or 10 minutes on the bus, while others may be spending an hour or more. To eliminate some of the waiting time, the district has redone existing routes and implemented new ones, while also setting up a shuttle service that runs between various locations.

Dealing with the added expense wasn’t pleasant, Superintendent Steve Johnston said, but it was expected.

“We just tried to nickel and dime things together,” he said. “Sometimes you have to tighten your belt in other places.”

Johnston said the district was adjusting.

“It’s going pretty well, considering it’s now 25 miles around,” he said.

Nancy Gantz, a second-grade teacher at Lecompton Elementary School, lives in Perry and makes the long drive to Lecompton. She also has a 16-year-old son at Perry-Lecompton High School. The bridge’s closure makes it more difficult to attend his school events. Lucky for her son, he still gets to drive to school unlike some of his friends.

“Their parents have put them on the bus,” Gantz said. “They’d probably all be driving; they were before the bridge closed.”

Possible fire hazard

When there’s a structure fire in Jefferson County, three fire departments are dispatched: Kentucky Township Fire Department in Perry, Lecompton Fire Department and Kaw Township Fire Department in Grantville.

With the bridge out, Lecompton firefighters now take 20 to 30 minutes to respond to a fire in Perry, which has a small department.

For Perry, the next closest fire department is Kaw Township Fire Department, which is about 12 minutes away, said Kentucky Township Fire Chief David Warriner.

“Worst-case scenario, it could affect lives and property, but we try not to dwell on those things,” Warriner said.

Warriner said the department sees fires that require combined responses once or twice a year.

Business drops

As close as the towns of Perry and Lecompton are in terms of government-provided services, the two communities are intertwined in business as well.

Gantz said she used to make regular stops at a grocery store in Perry on her way home.

“I’m not going there any more because I’m not going through Perry,” she said.

Instead, she’s likely to take Sixth Street through Lawrence and stop at one of the three grocery stores along the street.

Richard Wilks, who was very outspoken in his opposition to the closure of the bridge, owns Perry Bar and Grill. He said business at his restaurant has plummeted since the closure.

“I’m going to be conservative. It’s affected my business about 45 percent,” Wilks said.

He can rattle off the damage he says the bridge has done: steak night has dropped $500 to $600 per night, and taco night has dropped in half.

“I have four employees who live in Lecompton and I’ve had to give them all raises to make things wash out,” he said.

Just like the school district, Wilks had to make choices about where he spends his money while the bridge is closed. He said he wouldn’t spend money on advertising, promotions or marketing.

“I don’t get paid as much now,” he said.

Making adjustments

The Kansas Highway Patrol also has adjusted to the increased traffic volume by adding troopers along the routes.

“They’re definitely seeing more traffic, but there have been no increases in accidents or anything else because of it,” said Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. David Bogina.

In addition to the longer drive, Gantz and her husband soon will face another challenge. While they live east of Perry, they own farmland near Lecompton.

With spring officially here, the Gantzes will have to move farm equipment to the land in Lecompton. One way to do that is to drive the tractor down Sixth Street in Lawrence.

“I know it’s something that has to be done,” she said.

While they’re not happy, the Gantzes aren’t nearly as outraged as many of their neighbors, including Wilks.

Wilks, who said he attended every County Commission meeting about the bridge, is angry at Jefferson County commissioners but is committed to keeping his business open.

“Perry Bar and Grill had been here since 1921. We’re going to have a big party when the bridge reopens,” he said.