Lawrence and Douglas County residents will have an opportunity Wednesday to comment on the proposed expansion of Kansas Highway 10’s west leg.

Laurie Arellano, Kansas Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said KDOT would have the first of its planned informational meetings about an environmental impact study on expanding K-10 to four lanes from the U.S. Highway 59/Iowa Street interchange to North 1800 Road, which is known as Farmers’ Turnpike. The meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. at Southwest Middle School, 2511 Inverness Drive.

Arellano said no formal presentation would occur at the meeting and that the public was free to arrive at any time during the two hours. Several informational stations will be available at the meeting focusing on different aspects of the proposed improvements, and KDOT officials will be on hand to answer questions. Those attending will be able to submit comments for the record in writing or via electronic notebooks that KDOT will have available, she said.

“That’s really what we want to emphasize,” Arellano said. “We want to hear any concerns or comments residents of the community might have about the expansion.”

The environmental impact study, which is expected to take three years, is a required step in the improvement of the K-10 west leg to four lanes, Arellano said. KDOT has identified the west leg upgrade as one of the state’s emerging transportation needs, but no funding currently exists for the project.

The Kansas Joint Legislative Transportation Vision Task Force has had public hearings throughout the state since August in advance of making recommendations in January to the Kansas Legislature about what should be in the state’s next transportation plan and how it should be funded. The task force will consider its findings from the early meetings at two public hearings Nov. 28-29 in the Capitol in Topeka.