Construction is scheduled to begin Monday on two sections of a new cable median barrier on Kansas Highway 10 east of Lawrence, the Kansas Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
KDOT in July selected Gray Beal Construction Co. of Topeka for the $1.15 million project that was prompted by a fatal collision in April 2011. Five-year-old Cainan Shutt was killed when an impaired driver near Eudora crossed the median and struck the minivan driven by Cainan’s grandfather.
The project involves installing cable on a 2.3-mile stretch just west of the Church Street exit and a 2-mile section on both sides of the Kansas Highway 7 interchange in Johnson County.
Crews will work on the project during daylight hours Monday through Friday with occasional work on Saturdays. Beginning Monday, the shoulders on both sides of K-10 medians will be closed through the work zone, and there will also be occasional daily lane closures on K-10.
“There will be no lane-width restrictions, and a 60 mph speed limit will be posted through the work zone throughout the project duration,” KDOT said.
Message boards will alert drivers to any lane closures in the project, and drivers should expect minor delays during peak commuting hours.
The project is scheduled to be complete in mid-December, weather permitting.
Comments
Cant_have_it_both_ways 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Yeah... something else we can't afford and really don't need.
touringdriver 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Come on, it'll save life's. and who knows it maybe yours someday.
overplayedhistory 9 months, 2 weeks ago
1.5 million might save a few lives, but 1.5 million used to help our schools would probably save more.
Like children we continually skip over immediately obviously necessary to address our worst most improbable fears.
KRichards 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Has anyone actually crossed over in the section the barriers are being installed?
hipper_than_hip 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Oh there are going to be some crabby commuters if they have to slow to 60mph on K-10 from now unitl mid-December!
jhawkinsf 9 months, 2 weeks ago
And then they can speed back up just when the snow and ice comes?
nccooper 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Thanks to everyone that has come together to make this happen. People who have lost loved ones or, know someone that has lost a loved one on this highway know how important it is to have these cables installed. K-10 is a very dangerous highway and for those of you that dont think they are necessary you are sadly mistaken. Lives will be saved due to these cables. Any life saved by these cables is worth 1.5 million. Ask anyone who has lost a loved one in a car accident.
none2 9 months, 2 weeks ago
K-10 is one of the safest highways in the state. Does it wind around or have steep hills that block your view? Do people die trying to pass like they do on a two-lane? I don't think so. The problem with K-10 isn't the road; it is the drivers.
Where is your compassion for people killed on other highways? Do you think people don't die on roads such as US-24, US-40, US-59 (just to mention a few in our area)? They don't even have the term cross over on most of those highways as they are simply called head-on's.
Are you going to push for cable barriers on the new US-59 from Lawrence to Ottawa? It is going to have the same layout as K-10 has -- four lane with a grass median.
justforfun 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Sorry if you have lost someone you knew. However, to say K-10 is a very dangerous highway to me is sorta like saying guns are dangerous. It's not the cars or the guns it's the operators. Sorry, just my opinion. .
mommatocharlie 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I think of it as being dangerous in its boredom factor--no hills, no turns, flat road and little to break the view. You can easily get highway hypnosis on this road. It's about time the cable barrier was put in place. I'll go back to using K10 instead of the turnpike.
oletimer 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Don't know where you go, but these two roads take you totally different places.
gccs14r 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Highway hypnosis on 10? One, it's not a long enough road to zone out on , and two, it has hills and curves. If you can't stay focused on driving for 30 minutes to make it from Lawrence to Kansas City, you probably shouldn't drive at all.
For boring, I present I-29 north of Sioux Falls all the way up to Canada.
none2 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Comparisons have been done to barriers on I-70. I think between KC & St Louis they have cable barriers, but the thing on that section of I-70 is that there is no grass median. between the directions. Both directions are next to each other with just a small shoulder separating them. With a grass median, if you have competent drivers, it would suffice.
An analogy that comes to mind with all this is if Eudora had a big problem with many people randomly shooting off guns in their town and a little boy got shot and killed. Would the answer be to have the government buy bullet proof vets and helmets for all Eudora residents? Perhaps the government might also install bullet proof glass for the windows of all the residents of Eudora? At least some people would feel warm and fuzzy about it. It might even very well save some lives. HOWEVER, the only thing to STOP the problem would be lock up the nuts who were randomly shooting their guns in public.
I
MarcoPogo 9 months, 2 weeks ago
" bullet proof vets "
Starring Chuck Norris, Tom Sizemore, and Martin Sheen.
hipper_than_hip 9 months, 2 weeks ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
bartstop 9 months, 2 weeks ago
They need to install cables the entire length of K10. The KSHP should also step up patrols. There is no reason anyone needs to be driving 90+ mph out there. I can't believe the way some people drive.
nccooper 9 months, 2 weeks ago
+1
none2 9 months, 2 weeks ago
The Kansas Speedway is just off of I-70 -- not K-10.
nccooper 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I agree it is the drivers and that is why the highway isnt safe. yes it has hills and does wind around near desoto. I have compassion for anyone that has lost a loved one. All the highways in the lawrence area are dangerous. too many college kids on the road that arent paying attention.
none2 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I have driven K-10 for decades. What little bit of winding and hills around Desoto is such that you can still see for MILES. There is no big blind spot. The only time I ever had problems on K-10 was years ago when I didn't pay attention to the fact that in really cold weather bridges (especially those that are over bodies water) can ice over. I wasn't speeding and I didn't have an accident, but I did have to compensate. Nevertheless, I should have been driving even more slower than I was. I didn't go into the grass median, but for a few seconds I was struggling to stay in my right lane. Thank goodness K-10 wasn't a two lane road. I learned my lesson, and I was very lucky.
As far as roads being dangerous around here, I would say that US-40 between Lawrence & Topeka is the most dangerous. It winds and has hills all over the place. To me winding is worse than up and down hills because eventually on vertical hills, you'll be able to see again at the top. Where as with twisting, winding hills it can continue for quite a while. I'm surprised that more people aren't killed on US-40. I assume that few die there because most take I-70 instead. It would be interesting to know what the death rate was on US-40 before we had I-70.
No one wants anybody to die. Still, it is frustrating that so much money is being spent on one of the nicest roads in the state, when there are so many roads where nothing will ever be done. I do a lot of traveling through out the state, and it is sad to see all the road side crosses. Many road side deaths don't even have markers.
Now I'm sure that some of those deaths across the sate may have been due to gross negligence -- such as drinking, drugs, or drag racing. When I was in high school in western Kansas, there were two major traffic road deaths nearby: 1) some drag racing to impress some girls ended up killing a kid. There was also a race home after winning a basketball game -- three HS boys were killed. For a small town of 1,000, those deaths were felt by all. In both cases, the culpret was alcohol. I realize that no road improvement in such circumstances can stop accidents with people who should not be on the road in the first place.
Regardless of the examples I know, I do know that most of accidents through the state are not cross overs deaths because most Kansas roads aren't even 4 lane to begin with -- let along have a wide grass median in between.
What do we tell the people in other parts of the state about their roads while we spend millions to get a cable barrier? "Sorry, but we need to allow people in Douglas & Johnson County to speed, do drugs and/or alcohol to get to their important destinations, while roads in your part of the state are fine as is." Some of those 2-lane roads have no shoulders, have no rumble strips, etc. It comes across to me as we are spoiled here and only think of deaths in our own area.
mommatocharlie 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I agree about highway 40. I much prefer to use the turnpike to Topeka, because of the turns and twists in highway 40. I occasionally travel to the Topeka with a friend, and cringe every time on 40.
oletimer 9 months, 2 weeks ago
none2, this was purely a political situation where brownyback wanted to score points with whoever he could. More than 5 people acted interested in this so he jumped right in. It is all about political posturing and pretty much nothing about public safety. If safety was really involved, there would be more money for highway patrol to operate in sufficient numbers to insure more safety in highways. But with the oil companies gouging us everyday for gas, and the state broke, funds are cut back every year. You want real safety, tell brownyback to start pumping funds into law enforcement, and less with anti-abortion and other pet projects.
Pragmatron 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Thank You
snoops 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I really don't think you can blame dangerous highways in the Lawrence area on college kids. I drive K-10 everyday and rarely do I see a college kid driving erratically. Half-asleep commuters are all I see.
mommatocharlie 9 months, 2 weeks ago
You mean college students are allowed on the highways around Lawrence? GASP!!! They do a bad enough job driving in town , let alone on the highway.
Isabelle 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Not sure if the barriers will help. What will help is slow drivers to the right so faster drivers can pass-as mentioned on the signs posted on K10. Respect each other.
none2 9 months, 2 weeks ago
In all the decades I have driven K-10, I rarely see SLOW drivers. What I see is fast drivers, and other drivers who still think that the fast drivers still aren't going fast enough.
Just wait until the SLT is finished, and we get all the truck traffic added to K-10. Then you can complain about all the semi's that try to pass each other and take a few miles to do so. Then you'll know what it is like to slow down and develop patience.
oletimer 9 months, 2 weeks ago
all the truck traffic? I think you are going to be disappointed. K-10 is pretty much a route for southern parts of the metro. Don't really think you will see a lot of truckers using K-10 because most run east-west or north-south on I-70 and I-29. But go ahead and blame them anyway. Everyone else does. :(
hitme 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Truck traffic will definitely increase once they have a viable route from K-10 to the west side of Lawrence. For truck from Olathe it will be easier than driving North through KC
Ricky_Vaughn 9 months, 2 weeks ago
If you're not passing the person on the right, get the F over!
ksarmychick 9 months, 2 weeks ago
A 5 point harness carseat would have also saved this boys life.....how come I don't see his parents campaigning for the use of extended weight limit carseats to keep bigger kids safe?
newyawkertonMET 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm glad for the cable medians. They may not slow drivers down, but they will save lives. Lawrencians need to get off the high horse. All highways have dangerous drivers on them. K-10 has heavily congested commute times, and for some folks during these times, the speed limit and slower drivers are inconvenient. If area drivers need anything worth spending dollars on, it's driving workshops and road rage counseling.
Cant_have_it_both_ways 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Great...how nice of you. Now get out YOUR check book and fund it.
somedude20 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Bet it won't save too many motorcyclists lives when they hit it. Bet if all cellphone usage while driving was illegale, it would save just as many if not more lives
gccs14r 9 months, 2 weeks ago
It'll suck for motorcyclists. It'll be like going through a tomato slicer.
hitme 9 months, 2 weeks ago
The odds that a bike rider could make it air-born or upright to center of the median are pretty slim.
nccooper 9 months, 2 weeks ago
The cables are a good thing I dont really care what anyone else has to say about it. Just like no one cares what i say about it. This is another one of those arguements that could go on forever...KUDOS to anyone and everyone that made this happen!
MarcoPogo 9 months, 2 weeks ago
KUDOS to you for knot careing about whatever anybody else says or thinks or argueing about things that no body cares about becauze you dont if you do your just being one of their sheep hurting monkies with archie bunker raceists and people with no life's or commas!
pizzapete 9 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm glad they're installing these barriers and hope they do save lives. One life saved alone would be worth the money spent.
I'd also like to see all impared drivers taken off our roads. That would include people taking illegal drugs, abusing alcohol, and using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. I've lost count of how many times I've nearly been run over or put in harms way by inattentive drivers.
JJE007 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Protect us from the idiots, big bother!~) BROTHer!
FlintlockRifle 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Put up a roving camera which can be moved to a different location each week or month or more offend, picture taken sent check.
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