The four options for the intersection are:

• Do nothing and keep the access to and from the highway open to Kasold Drive to the north and East 1200 Road to the south.

• Install a traffic signal at the intersection.

• Limit the intersection to right-lane access and egress to and from the highway.

• Close the intersection.

Leaving the intersection unchanged would have no cost but was the most dangerous option, Barrett said. KDOT anticipated it would significantly increase the number of collisions, with many being “severe,” he said.

Keeping the at-grade intersection open was also counter to KDOT’s ultimate goal of making K-10 a four-lane freeway with only separated-grade intersections, he said.

A traffic control signal at the intersection would cost from $70,000 to $170,000, Barrett said. The option would be safer than the no-change alternative but would have consequences to the flow of traffic, he said.

The right-on, right-off option was also safer than doing nothing and less restrictive of traffic flow because it eliminated traffic maneuvering in the path of eastbound and westbound K-10 traffic, Barrett said. He estimated the cost of adding the needed turn lanes at $315,000.

Closing the intersection was the safest option but would increase traffic on County Road 458 to the south, Barrett said. KDOT would install a traffic control signal at CR 458 and U.S. 59 should that be the chosen option, he said. The modifications were estimated to cost $270,000.

A KDOT review indicated the intersection’s closing would not significantly increase traffic on East 900 Road over the Clinton Lake Dam, Barrett said.

To address the concerns of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical and the Wakarusa Township Fire Department about increased response times with the intersection’s closure, KDOT would install a gate that would allow emergency vehicles access to East 1200 Road to the south, Barrett said.

KDOT will continue to consult with city and county staff and report to the two commissions May 31. It will have a public informational meeting on the intersection from 5 to 7 p.m. June 1 at the Lawrence United Methodist Church West Campus, 867 U.S. Highway 40.

A final report summarizing comments from the public meeting and recommendations will be shared June 21 with the Lawrence City Commission and the following day with the Douglas County Commission, Barrett said. A selected alternative, which KDOT “hoped could be supported” by both commissions, would be presented at the meetings, he said.

The goal was to bid any needed work in September with an October construction schedule, Barrett said. KDOT would have money available to pay for the chosen option, he said.

Public comment and suggestions from local governments would have weight, but Barrett said KDOT would make the final decision.

“Ultimately, the intersection is involved on our highway,” he said. “Not everybody is going to like the decision that gets made. We’re just looking for a decision everyone can live with.”

In other business, the County Commission asked that county planning staff give further consideration to a text amendment to county zoning regulations that would allow the addition of an accessory dwelling of a maximum size of 1,000 square feet without the need for rural homeowners to re-plat their property.

County commissioners asked that language be added to ensure the smaller dwellings were used for the intended proposes of housing for a farmhand, family member or caregiver and not as rental units.

Planner Mary Miller said language would be added requiring applicants to demonstrate that buildings would be used for those intended uses for at least three years. At Commissioner Nancy Thellman’s request, planning staff will also add language that would allow applicants to ask the Douglas County Board of Zoning Appeals to approve larger dwellings if needed for therapeutic or special needs.

City Government