Wheel genius: Road construction projects planned for this week

Lawrence

• Traffic on Canyon Drive will be down to one lane so crews can replace curbs at the intersection of Canyon Drive and Country Club Terrace.

• Traffic along 31st Street will be reduced to one lane in both directions starting at Louisiana and heading a half-mile west. Motorists should expect delays and avoid the area if possible.

• Crews will be working to repair concrete along Inverness Drive, from Bob Billings to Clinton Parkway. Expect single lanes, or even entire block-long sections, to be closed during work. Direct access to driveways may be restricted. The project is expected to last into mid- to late September.

• Crews will lay brick in the 1100 block of New York Street and close the New York and 12th Street intersection. The block will be closed for several weeks.

• The Kansas Turnpike’s East Lawrence interchange, Exit 204, remains closed for reconstruction. It is set to reopen by Thanksgiving.

• University Drive will be closed from Engle Road to Raintree Place for a water line replacement project. Both Tomahawk Drive from Rockfence to Lawrence Avenue and Indiana from Sixth Street to Eighth Street will have no parking and will be closed to through traffic from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• On Friday, Oread Avenue from 12th to 13th Street and the intersection at 12th Street will be closed so the Oread hotel can host a football season kickoff event.

• Crews continue patching and crack-sealing work in various areas of Lawrence, with temporary lane closures — but no detours — expected during such work.

U.S. Highway 59

• Expect construction work at the U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 56 intersection. Both highways will remain open, but traffic routes will shift. Drivers need to use caution and drive slowly while moving through the intersection. The project, which includes reconstruction of pavement along U.S. Highway 56 and construction of a new frontage road along U.S. Highway 59, is scheduled to be completed in early October.

• North 200 Road is closed at U.S. Highway 59 for frontage road construction work. The road will be tied to the new frontage road that runs parallel to the new U.S. Highway 59. Work is scheduled to be completed in late 2012.

• North 650 Road is closed at U.S. Highway 59 and to the west for work on a frontage road, interchange ramps and new bridge to carry North 650 Road over U.S. Highway 59.

U.S. Highway 24

• The eastbound lane is reduced to single lane from the intersection at Kansas Highway 16 and U.S. Highway 24 in Tonganoxie east to the Wyandotte County line. The pavement repair work is scheduled to be completed in the early fall.

• Mud Creek Bridge along U.S. Highway 24, east of Lawrence Municipal Airport, remains limited to one lane of traffic as crews add pavement to the bridge deck. Expect delays, as traffic is governed by temporary traffic signals expected to be in service until late fall.

• U.S. Highway 24 west of Topeka will be down to one lane for both directions over the bridge that spans the Union Pacific Railroad tracks to Menoken Road. Traffic signals will regulate the single lane of traffic, and drivers should expect delays. No left-hand turns will be allowed at the U.S. Highway 24 and Menoken Road intersection. The project is still expected to last into mid-September.

Interstate 70

• Drivers on the Kansas Turnpike just east of Lawrence are limited to one lane in each direction as crews rebuild turnpike lanes from just east of the interchange to a point just west of the Lawrence service area. The limits are expected to remain until just before Thanksgiving; the service area is scheduled to remain open throughout construction.

• Heading westbound on I-70, the left lane will be closed from the Kansas Turnpike Authority’s east Topeka toll gate plaza to the Carnahan Avenue exit. Repair work on the concrete pavement is taking place. Crews will be working Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Drivers should expect lane closures and interchange ramps could be closed along that stretch of road. Work will continue into early October.

• Work continues where I-70 and I-435 connect in Wyandotte County. The westbound I-70 to northbound I-435 ramp reopened on Saturday. From 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, the ramp from southbound I-435 to eastbound I-70 will be reduced to one lane for milling work.

• From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday through Friday, the westbound I-70 lane will be reduced to one lane from 94th Street to 110th Street for grinding work. From 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday, the eastbound section of that road will be reduced to one lane.

Interstate 435

• A repair and resurfacing project is under way for the westbound and northbound side of I-435, from 87th Street to Antioch Road in Johnson County. Work is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday to 5:30 a.m. Monday. Drivers should expect delays and find an alternate route if possible. The project is to be finished in early October.

Interstate 635

• Northbound I-635 is reduced to one lane from Merriam Lane in Johnson County to Georgia Avenue in Wyandotte County for pavement-marking work from 6:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and all day and night Saturdays. Ramps along I-635 may be closed. Once the northbound direction is completed, crews will move to the southbound lanes. The project is scheduled to be completed in late August.