From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Nov. 15, 1972:

After more than five months of work, the downtown Neighborhood Development Program renovation of four blocks of Massachusetts Street was in its final stages. The project, which carried a price tag of more than $1 million, involved the removal of the old “humped” street “which many a motorist will remember occasionally left him in a slipper predicament at curbside on icy days,” according to an article in today’s Journal-World. Curbside areas of the street now sloped toward the center of the road, rather than away from it; the curbs themselves had been reconfigured into a sawtooth shape; new sidewalks, streetlights, and fire hydrants had been installed. Pedestrian crossings were being installed in the middle of the blocks and planter areas were to feature trees and other new plantings.The city commission this week had given Constant Construction Co. permission to continue work on the project past today’s deadline, provided that the finishing efforts did not interfere with traffic or pedestrians.