Kansas Turnpike officials Friday afternoon were urging motorists traveling through the Lawrence area to exit the highway at Lecompton because of heavy traffic.

According to an alert from the Kansas Turnpike Authority, by 4:45 p.m. traffic had backed up from the construction area west of milemarker 202.

A second alert from the KTA said that traffic did not start flowing normally through the construction zone until just before 9 p.m. Friday.

Earlier Friday, Turnpike officials announced that they had successfully switched traffic from the eastbound lanes to the westbound lanes so they could begin reconstruction between the East Lawrence exit and the Lawrence service area.

Motorists were urged to look for alternate routes between Lawrence and Kansas City or be prepared for lengthy delays.