photo by: Rochelle Valverde

Part of the Lawrence Loop trail near the intersection of 12th and Oregon streets is pictured on Monday, July 16, 2018.

The City of Lawrence was awarded a $564,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation for the Lawrence Loop project, according to a news release Thursday from the city.

Lawrence received the award for the shared-use path from Michigan Street to Sandra J. Shaw Community Health Park, the release said.

The grant, which requires a 20% local cash match, is part of KDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program for fiscal year 2022-23.

“We are grateful to be awarded this grant to continue work on the Lawrence Loop,” City Engineer David Cronin said in the release. “This is a community priority for improving multimodal transportation, and the grant will move us closer to completing the Loop.”

Design on the project is scheduled to begin this coming summer, with construction slated for spring 2023.

The project was part of the 2017 Lawrence Loop Alignment Study and is on the priority network in the Lawrence Bikes Plan, the release noted. It will connect to a portion of the Lawrence Loop that was funded partly by a 2021 Transportation Alternative grant, which is intended to connect the Loop from Michigan Street to North Iowa Street and Peterson Road.