From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Sept. 27, 1987:

The month just ending had proven to be a fine one for local road construction. Dry weather had made conditions perfect for the city’s largest current road project, the laying of asphalt on part of Wakarusa Drive. The $2 million project would turn the old gravel road, once known as Dragstrip Road, into a four-lane street connecting Sixth Street and Clinton Parkway. The project was expected to be completed by the end of the year, if the weather continued to cooperate. Additionally, an $875,000 project was creating a new section of Inverness Drive connecting West 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive, providing permanent access to the new elementary school. Officials were also hoping to be able to start a project to widen the busy intersection at 23rd and Louisiana streets.