photo by: City of Lawrence

A City of Lawrence map shows the portion of East 23rd Street that will be reconstructed as part of a six-month project.

The City of Lawrence has begun a multimillion-dollar project to reconstruct East 23rd Street that will last about a year and a half and reduce traffic to two lanes throughout the project.

The project will reconstruct East 23rd Street from the Haskell Bridge to the eastern city limits. Traffic will be one lane in each direction throughout the project, with access maintained to all properties along the roadway, according to a city news release.

The 23rd Street project is among several getting underway this summer, and the $15.36 million cost of the project will be shared with the Kansas Department of Transportation, as the Journal-World previously reported. In addition to the street reconstruction, the project includes improvements to access management along the roadway, as well as improvements to storm sewers, sidewalks, traffic signals, transit stops and water mains. The project is anticipated to be complete in December 2023.

The project will include three phases. The first phase began Monday with an approximately one-week closure of the two inside lanes of 23rd Street between Harper Street and O’Connell Road. Once that work is done, there will be intermittent closures of one westbound lane at a time to install an asphalt overlay on the existing westbound lanes until the end of July.

The city will provide updates on the second and third phases as the project progresses.

Residents should expect delays in the area and use alternate routes if possible. Additionally, the city will notify property owners and residents in the project area a minimum of 48 hours before any access restrictions to their property.

A project map and the full list of current city construction projects is available at lawrenceks.org/construction.

Editor’s note: This story has been revised to correct the expected length of the project.