photo by: Kim Callahan

The intersection of Naismith Drive and 20th Street is pictured on June 3, 2022. The northbound lanes are currently closed.

Summer means road construction season in Lawrence, and several street and infrastructure projects are already underway or will be starting soon.

Large-scale projects on the schedule include work on East 23rd Street, 19th Street and storm drainage near Naismith Drive. Those projects are in addition to work done as part of the city’s annual street maintenance program, which includes curb and gutter maintenance and milling, patching and overlay of various streets around town.

Below is information about some of the major summer roadwork projects included in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, as well as information about construction schedules provided by City Engineer David Cronin. Cronin said all dates are dependent on weather.

East 23rd Street reconstruction: The $15.36 million project will reconstruct East 23rd Street from the Haskell Bridge to the eastern city limits. The Kansas Department of Transportation is sharing the costs for the project, which will also include improvements to the intersection at Haskell Avenue, access management along the roadway, storm sewers and sidewalks. The project is anticipated to begin in mid-to-late June and be complete in the winter of 2023. Traffic will be one lane in each direction throughout the project, which will first reconstruct the eastbound lanes before moving on to reconstruct the westbound lanes.

photo by: Kim Callahan

The intersection of 19th Street and Harper Street, looking east, is pictured on June 3, 2022.

East 19th Street reconstruction: The $2.2 million project will reconstruct East 19th Street between Harper Street and O’Connell Road and create an additional access point for the two city business parks, VenturePark and East Hills. Some of that section of East 19th Street is not currently built to city standards and lacks curbs and closed drainage systems, and the project includes the addition of storm sewers and sidewalks on those portions. The approximately six-month project began in March and is anticipated to be complete in the fall. There will be various street closures during the project, and detours will be provided for local traffic.

20th Street storm water drainage system: The work on 20th Street is part of a larger $3 million project to improve storm water drainage in the area. This portion will replace the storm sewer on 20th Street from Alabama Street to Naismith Drive. The northbound lane of Naismith Drive is currently closed at 20th Street and will reopen in approximately six weeks. This summer there will also be a closure of 19th Street from Arkansas to Illinois to replace the storm sewer in that area.

photo by: Kim Callahan

Drainage work in the area of Naismith Drive and 20th Street is pictured on June 3, 2022.

Naismith Valley interceptor sewer project: A sewer project near Naismith Valley Park will require the closure of Naismith Drive from 23rd Street to 24th Street for six to eight weeks in late summer.

Louisiana Street: The project will mill and overlay a portion of Louisiana Street as part of the annual street maintenance program. Louisiana Street will be closed between 19th Street and 21st Street beginning next week through July.

Inverness Drive: The project will mill and overlay a portion of Inverness Drive as part of the annual street maintenance program. The project already began and traffic is restricted to one way. The project is estimated to be complete in three weeks.

Queens Road reconstruction: The long-debated project, which was the subject of a lawsuit, will reconstruct Queens Road from West Sixth Street to Wakarusa Drive. The project was previously estimated to cost $4.83 million, a large part of which will be paid for by nearby residents, and the Lawrence City Commission is set to approve another $175,000 for the acquisition of right-of-way for the project as part of its meeting Tuesday. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall and be completed in the summer of 2023.

More information about all city road projects, including an interactive map, is available on the city’s website at lawrenceks.org/construction.