KDOT planning SLT changes, but funding is far off

It may be a number of years before the Kansas Department of Transportation has the funding it needs to make major changes to the west leg of Kansas Highway 10, but KDOT officials told local government officials Tuesday that they still want to have a plan in place by early next year.

“There is no funding for construction at this time,” KDOT project manager Ryan Barrett told officials. “A funding schedule has not been identified.”

Barrett and other officials briefed the Lawrence City Commission and the Douglas County Commission on various options for the highway during a joint study session Tuesday afternoon.

He said the long-term goal is to improve K-10 to the standards of a four-lane freeway that will encircle the south and west sides of the city, offering a seamless connection between Interstate 435 in the Kansas City area and the Kansas Turnpike west of Lawrence.

And while several different options are being considered, the ones that KDOT officials prefer are likely to stir controversy, both in Lawrence and neighboring Lecompton.

Greg Weatherd, an engineering consultant on the project from HNTB Corp., said KDOT’s preferred option would be to redesign the interchange at the Kansas Turnpike by cutting off access to the Farmers Turnpike, a county road north of the interchange.

He said KDOT would prefer to build a new exit farther to the west to serve the Lecompton area.

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That portion of the project would also involve moving and reconfiguring the toll plaza, possibly by moving it south to be in line with K-10, so that vehicles with K-Tag permits could transition on and off the Turnpike at relatively high speeds without stopping.

Weatherd conceded that during a public meeting in Lecompton on Monday night, residents there were not enthusiastic about that idea.

Lawrence Mayor Mike Amyx said it may also be inconvenient to the city of Lawrence. He said the city has considered buying real estate northeast of that interchange as a possible site for future industrial development, but moving the access point for Lecompton farther to the west would be inconvenient and would force people who use that road to pay a toll just to get across the turnpike.

Another controversial part of the project could involve eliminating the connection between K-10 and Clinton Parkway.

Among other things, Weatherd said, that would involve eliminating the current stoplight near 27th Street and Wakarusa Drive and constructing a different kind of exit in that area to provide access to Clinton Lake Sports Complex.

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He also said that under any scenario, KDOT wants to redesign that 90-degree curve to improve safety in the area. The agency also wants to eliminate intersections that it calls “at-grade” with other roads, replacing them with overpasses or exit ramps.

One of the options presented would involve building a frontage road along the west side of K-10 that would provide access onto the highway via the new Bob Billings Parkway interchange.

But County Commission Chairman Jim Flory said that would not be popular with residents in southwest Douglas County who use that interchange to access the highway.

Weatherd said that with all the improvements, KDOT estimates it can reduce traffic accidents on the west leg of K-10 by nearly 24 percent. But he said design options are available that would allow keeping the connection with the Farmers Turnpike as well as an interchange at Clinton Parkway, although those would result in less safety improvement.

Barrett said there is no funding for the improvements in the state’s current multi-year transportation plan, which expires in 2020. He said the department could try to phase in the improvements one project at a time, or wait until 2020, when lawmakers may consider adopting another multi-year highway plan.

In the meantime, he said, KDOT plans to continue holding public meetings and soliciting comments on the project, and it hopes to release a final draft of the overall project around the first of next year.