photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Construction work on Ninth Street is pictured on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

The section of Ninth Street that’s closed for a stormwater project will soon be extended through Mississippi Street, but some traffic could be flowing again on Ninth by later in the summer.

That’s according to a news release from the City of Lawrence on Tuesday. The city said that Mississippi Street would be closed to traffic in both directions at Ninth Street starting next Monday, April 20, for the final phase of utility work for the Jayhawk Watershed Middle Reach project.

The more than $22 million project has installed about 2,000 feet of stormwater tunnels so far, according to the release, and the completion of the remaining 250 feet will mark “the completion of the project’s most significant utility work.”

While this is underway, the release said, restoration work will start at Ninth and Louisiana. The goal is to restore traffic access by the start of the University of Kansas’ football season.

The temporary parking east of the construction zone on Ninth will remain open during the work, the release said, and more temporary parking will be added west of Mississippi and north and south of Ninth. A pedestrian route on the north side of Ninth will also be open later this month to provide better access to businesses.

As the Journal-World reported, the stormwater work on Ninth began late last year. The project has been replacing more-than-century-old storm sewers to reduce the risk of flooding in the area.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Construction work on Ninth Street is pictured on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.