Reconstruction, road closures on East Ninth Street begin this week

photo by: Journal-World File Photo

This file photo from April 2017 shows a portion of East Ninth Street in Lawrence.

Reconstruction of a 5-block stretch of East Ninth Street will begin Monday, and the city has announced the first street closures related to the project.

The approximately $2 million project will be completed in four phases over the span of approximately four months. The project will replace the roadway, sidewalks and storm sewers on East Ninth Street between New Hampshire and Pennsylvania streets. Sidewalks will also be replaced along East Ninth Street between Pennsylvania and Delaware streets. Work on the project is expected to continue through November, according to a city staff memo to the Lawrence City Commission.

The first phase, which begins Monday, will require East Ninth Street to be closed between Rhode Island Street and New York Street, according to a city news release.

Inspections and work on the sewer lines will also require closures and lane reductions in other areas of Ninth Street. On Wednesday and Thursday, West Ninth Street will be closed from 5 to 7 a.m. between Highland Drive and Emery Road. Detours will be in place to reroute motorists to Sixth Street to avoid the area. The center turn lane of Ninth Street between Arkansas Street and Louisiana Street will be intermittently closed during the day on Wednesday and Thursday.

The four phases of the East Ninth Street project are as follows, according to the memo:

• Phase one: Reconstruction of the intersection of Ninth and Connecticut streets.

• Phase two: Reconstruction of Ninth Street between New Hampshire and Connecticut streets. Work will not begin prior to the Boys & Girls Club fundraiser event at 888 New Hampshire St. on Aug. 25.

• Phase three: Reconstruction of Ninth Street between Connecticut and Pennsylvania streets, excepting the intersection of Ninth and New York streets.

• Phase four: Reconstruction of the intersection of Ninth and New York streets.

When originally proposed, the East Ninth Street project included integrated public artwork and other artistically designed elements along the roadway. The City Commission ultimately voted to forego that design for the less expensive, basic street reconstruction that is now set to begin. The Lawrence Arts Center received a grant to help fund public art along East Ninth Street, and that project is still ongoing but will no longer be integrated with the street reconstruction project.

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