photo by: Rochelle Valverde

A section of Queens Road is pictured on Jan. 20, 2022.

Nearly four years after city leaders decided on funding for the project, the City of Lawrence is set to begin construction on Queens Road.

Queens Road was previously a rural road, and the city will begin construction on Monday to improve the road to meet city street standards, according to a city news release. The city anticipates the project will be complete in September 2023, depending on weather and other potential project-related delays.

The project will construct a two-lane street from Sixth Street to Eisenhower Drive, consisting of one northbound lane, one southbound lane and a raised median/center turn lane for intersecting streets. A new waterline, storm sewer, sanitary sewer and landscaping are also all included in the project. As part of the city’s “complete streets” policy, the project will also include on-street bike lanes, a shared-use path on the west side of Queens Road and a sidewalk on the east side. A traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Sixth Street and Queens Road, and a roundabout will be installed at Queens Road and Overland Drive.

The approximately $4.9 million project has been tied up in litigation for years, as the Journal-World has reported. The Lawrence City Commission approved two special taxing districts in December 2018 to help fund most of the construction costs for Queens Road and the installation of a stoplight, and a lawsuit was subsequently filed.

Queens Road property owner Kurt Schaake initially filed the lawsuit against the city in Douglas County District Court in January 2019, claiming that the taxing districts the city set up to fund the project were arbitrary and capricious and therefore out of line with state law. A judge dismissed that lawsuit prior to trial for legal representation issues, but Schaake filed an appeal with the Kansas Court of Appeals in February 2020. The Kansas Court of Appeals dismissed the case in May 2021, and Schaake appealed that decision to the Kansas Supreme Court, which in March of this year denied the petition for review.

During construction, Queens Road will be closed from Sixth Street to Eisenhower Drive, with only those who live on Queens Road able to access it, according to the release. Eastbound and westbound traffic on Rock Chalk Drive and Wakarusa Drive will be maintained through their intersections with Queens Road. Eastbound and westbound traffic on Overland Drive will not be able to cross Queens Road. Traffic control and signed detours will be provided.

More information about the project is available on lawrenceks.org/mso/queens-road.