Work set to begin on repaving near Clinton Lake

More work ahead

Wednesday night, Douglas County commissioners are expected to approve a $1.1 million contract for Bettis Asphalt, of Topeka, to repave sections of county-maintained roads as follows:

• Early August: North 1300 Road (also known as 31st Street), from East 1400 Road (Louisiana Street) to a point a half-mile to the west.

• September, possibly into October: County Road 458, from East 1500 to East 1600 roads; County Road 1055, from North 1000 Road to North 700/East 1700 Road, excluding an area previously rebuilt near an area gun club; County Road 460, from East 1700 and East 1900 roads; and County Road 1029, from County Road 442 to U.S. Highway 40.

Wednesday’s commission meeting begins at 4 p.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass., and includes items regarding floodplain regulations, zoning text amendments, and plans for USA Cycling Cyclocross events at 1014 N. 1800 Road, northeast of Lawrence.

Work to overhaul a road often traversed by visitors to Clinton Lake begins Monday, and Douglas County officials have some advice for drivers who inevitably will be approaching the sure-to-be pervasive orange cones:

Be flexible.

Be patient.

Find another way.

“People need to expect delays and to avoid the area, if possible,” said Keith Browning, county engineer and director of public works. “But it will be a really nice improvement when it’s done.”

Topeka-based Bettis Asphalt and Construction Inc. will be handling the $2.45 million job, to resurface and add shoulders to a 10.5-mile stretch of what is known as the lake’s “circumference road,” from Stull to County Road 1. The section’s official designation is County Road 1023/458, and it runs along the western and southern edges of Clinton Lake before ending just north of the town of Lone Star.

The contract calls for three months of construction, during which sections of the road will be limited to one lane for traffic. Flaggers and pilot cars will guide drivers through work zones.

About 900 vehicles use the section of road each day, but officials figure that the total likely increases in the summer months as folks make their way to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers camp sites, picnic shelters, Bloomington Beach and other features alongside the lake.

Two bridges south of Stull that have been down to one lane of traffic since May should reopen for two-way traffic by Monday, Browning said. Crews have been busy upgrading the surfaces of those bridges and making other changes to reduce maintenance needs and to improve driving conditions.