City closes another part of Ninth Street as construction projects continue

photo by: Dylan Lysen

A road-closed sign sits on the corner of Ninth and New Hampshire streets. Construction crews closed Ninth Street from Connecticut to New Hampshire streets on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018.

The beginning of the school year often means one thing for the City of Lawrence: road construction projects coming to an end.

But some projects in Lawrence will take much longer, said David Cronin, city engineer.

On Monday, the city closed Ninth Street from Connecticut Street to New Hampshire Street as part of one of the two longer-term street projects. The city is working on the reconstruction of Ninth Street from Pennsylvania Street to New Hampshire Street and the reconstruction of Kasold Drive from Sixth Street to Bob Billings Parkway.

The projects include the reconstruction of the road, curbs and sidewalks.

When the construction crews finish with the New Hampshire-to-Connecticut portion of the Ninth Street project later this fall, they will begin work from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, which is expected to last until the end of the year.

Cronin said the reconstruction of Kasold Drive also would soon enter a new phase, which will flip the one-lane traffic to the northbound side of Kasold while the construction crews begin working on the southbound side.

“We’re probably about a month away from finishing the northbound lane, sidewalks and driveways,” he said.

Cronin said neither project is behind schedule, but the city asked the contractor for the Ninth Street project to wait on beginning the New Hampshire phase because of the “Over The Edge” charity event on Saturday, which occurred at the 888 Lofts near the Ninth and New Hampshire intersection.

The city is currently repaving Massachusetts Street between 14th and 11th streets, which will include striping for bike lines. Cronin said he expected the project to end in October or November.

On the west side of town, the city continues to work on Clinton Parkway between Kasold Drive and Wakarusa Drive. Cronin said the city was repaving the road and improving the curb and gutters of the street.

The project, which has reduced traffic to one lane, is expected to finish in October.

The city also plans to begin some traffic-calming projects soon, including constructing speed humps on Missouri and Arkansas streets between Eighth and Ninth streets; 24th Street between Kasold Drive and Crossgate Drive; and on Lincoln Street between Third and Seventh streets.

Cronin said some ongoing projects did not seriously affect traffic but were considered major construction sites, including the one-lane closure near East Seventh and New Jersey streets for the Sante Fe Depot renovation.

“The project, which is a historical restoration project for the building, is expected to be done by the end of the year,” he said. “That’s an exciting project for the community.”

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