New gasoline and diesel pumps are cranking out fuel at the Lawrence Service Area along the Kansas Turnpike, ending a six-month drought brought on by a multimillion-dollar upgrade.

The new EZ Go pumps went into service Thursday morning, said Lisa Callahan, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Turnpike Authority.

EZ Go had closed its convenience store and pumps at the service area Jan. 12, embarking on a $3.6 million project to replace underground tanks, realign and add more pumps, and replace the convenience store itself.

While fuel is available starting Thursday on a pay-at-the-pump basis, the new store — nearly triple the size of the old one, and including more features, bathrooms and fixtures — opens at 8 a.m. Friday.

“This is very good for our customers and for holiday travelers as they head out to celebrate the Independence Day holiday,” Callahan said.

The service area is five miles east of the turnpike’s East Lawrence interchange, and is located between lanes that carry a daily average of 14,500 vehicles in each direction. The area includes a McDonald’s restaurant, which has remained open throughout EZ Go’s construction and worked to retain awareness by having a bright spotlight blasting into the night sky northeast of town.

Carey Johnson Oil Co. Inc., owner of the EZ Go group, financed the bulk of the project. The turnpike’s share was $1.2 million, to cover costs for paving, electrical and tank-replacement work.

Heading into the project, company President Carey Johnson said that the number of fueling stations for drivers would go from eight to 24, and that the station also would be expanding its variety by providing three grades of fuel — up from two — as well as offering E85, an ethanol blend.

Truckers now have access to a separate, six-lane area equipped with “ultra high-flow” diesel. New pumps also are equipped with credit card readers, something that hadn’t been offered before.

Carey Johnson Oil also financed most of the work for a similar project at the turnpike’s Belle Plaine Service Area, which is south of Wichita. That new store, a $3.8 million project, opened Aug. 22.