Perhaps it ain’t over ’til it’s over, but it appears that the bitter, decades-long effort to build, or to stop the building of, the leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway through the Baker Wetlands may be at an end.

Opponents of the road opted not to appeal a U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision handed down in July that cleared the way for the highway’s construction.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says construction on the final leg of the road, connecting Interstate 70 west of Lawrence with Kansas Highway 10 east of the city, could begin in 2013, with completion estimated for 2016.

It may take longer than that for feelings to subside. Supporters of the road claim the opponents have done little other than escalate the ultimate cost of the project by seizing upon the notion that the wetlands are sacred to many American Indians at Haskell Indian Nations University. Opponents of the highway claim that Haskell was not properly consulted when the route was selected, that the interests of American Indians were trampled and that environmental considerations were short-circuited in the process of getting the bypass approved.

The appeals court ruling apparently cleared the way for the $190 million project, but opponents say they will watch developments, hoping that the state’s financial situation might still derail construction. Regrettably, some in the coalition of opponents have suggested they may yet try to get more influential allies to take up their cause.

The trafficway was authorized in a local bond election back in 1990. Many of the original players in the drama have moved on. It would seem that after 20-plus years of divisive battling it’s time for everyone to acknowledge that the issue has had its day (many days, in fact) in court. Ultimately, one side prevailed. Now it’s time to look ahead, to try to heal the wounds opened by the contention that has been a community issue for far too many years and to get the road built! Keeping the flames burning at this point serves no rational purpose.