KDOT announces more traffic control measures for Kasold and SLT intersection

KDOT will make additional safety enhancements at the intersection of Kansas Highway 10 and East 1200 Road to clarify that only right-on, right-off turns are allowed at the site.

The Kansas Department of Transportation is making further changes at the intersection of Kansas Highway 10 and East 1200 Road — also commonly referred to as the Kasold Drive and SLT intersection — to clarify that all traffic maneuvers involving crossing the highway’s center line are prohibited.

After a three-vehicle accident at the intersection sent five people to local hospitals on Nov. 22, safety concerns surfaced about the intersection’s new configuration — two triangular islands of plastic delineator poles at East 1200 Road’s north and south junctions with K-10, designed to permit only right turns onto and off the highway. A report from the Kansas Highway Patrol showed that the crash was caused when a Lawrence motorist was struck by oncoming traffic while trying to cross K-10.

KDOT spokeswoman Kimberly Qualls said the additional work, which starts Monday, would involve placement of more signage and traffic control measures near the intersection.

Qualls said 12 new permanent signs would be installed on K-10 and East 1200 Road within the next week, weather permitting. The signs will inform motorists that only right turns onto or off the highway are permitted.

KDOT also plans to extend the solid-line pavement markings along the intersection’s acceleration and deceleration lanes by 100 feet and place delineator poles along those lane boundaries to channel motorists onto and off the highway. The lane markings are expected to be in place before Dec. 16, Qualls said, and the poles will be placed in mid-January once KDOT has more of them in stock.

As a temporary measure, electronic message boards were placed on K-10 and East 1200 Road last week. They will stay up until the rest of the traffic control elements are in place, Qualls said.

At a meeting Thursday, KDOT officials shared the plans for additional safety enhancements with law enforcement officers and representatives of Douglas County and the city of Lawrence.

Douglas County Public Works Director Keith Browning, who attended that meeting, said the added measures should clear up any confusion about what is allowed at the intersection.

“This should make it abundantly clear there is no left off K-10 or on from East 1200 Road,” he said. “It makes clear there’s no crossing the highway or U-turns on the highway — obviously, that’s a terrible idea.”