The Douglas County Commission on Wednesday will consider approving the county’s five-year capital improvement plan — a proposal that will send a message to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The five-year CIP lists and schedules bridge, road and facility projects and their estimated costs for the next five years. The future projects aren’t set in stone and the list can be amended to accommodate changing needs.

The capital improvement plan that commissioners are to consider does include a project not included in past years, the $8.9 million extension of Wakarusa Drive south of Kansas Highway 10. Douglas County Public Works Director Keith Browning also told commissioners during last month’s budget discussions that he had slotted that project into the CIP for 2021.

Soon after KDOT announced in June its right-in, right-out solution for the K-10/Kasold Drive intersection, which eliminated one access point from southwest Douglas County to Lawrence, Browning told commissioners that putting the Wakarusa Drive extension on the county CIP would signal to KDOT the county was serious about the need for a new K-10/Wakarusa Drive separated-grade interchange.

The CIP that commissioners will review Wednesday has the county paying for $4.9 million of its estimated costs and “outside funding” providing the remainder. Although Browning said last month that KDOT might provide some planning and engineering for the project, it was expected the city of Lawrence would share in most of the remaining cost. The extension would provide Lawrence the benefit of greater access to the city’s Youth Sports Complex, Eagle Bend Golf Course, the adult softball complex, dog park and other recreation facilities either on or planned for the 1,515 acres the city leases east of Clinton Dam, Browning said.

The big project for 2017 is the $5.95 million improvement to County Road 458 from East 800 Road to East 1000 Road. The project will rebuild the roadway in that section, add paved shoulders and longer culvert and re-align three sharp curves.

The CIP also would make a series of improvements from 2018 through 2022 to CR 1055, which links Lawrence and Baldwin City through the Vinland Valley. The planned projects would complement the improvements made last year to CR 1055 from Baldwin City to Vinland.

Should the CIP schedule remain as now planned, the additional CR 1055 upgrades would start in 2018 with $2 million of improvements to about 1.8 miles of CR 1055 from the Wakarusa River Bridge south to its intersection with CR 458. The work will include installation of paved shoulders on the section where the roadway now drops off into steep ditches.

The Douglas County Commission meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. A complete agenda can be viewed at douglascountyks.org.