photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Construction work continues near Ninth and Mississippi streets on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Halfway through 2026, a couple of construction projects on Lawrence roads are getting ready to begin, and one that’s closed Ninth Street to traffic for months is going to wrap up soon.

The projects about to start include maintenance on the north end of Iowa Street and a reconfiguration of Massachusetts Street. And, on Ninth, the roadway is expected to reopen in time for the University of Kansas’ football season in September.

Here’s a closer look at where these and other road projects in Lawrence stand now:

Ninth Street

The closures on Ninth Street are still on track to end later this summer.

Since late last year, Ninth has been closed to traffic just west of the downtown area as part of the Jayhawk Watershed stormwater project. Mississippi Street has also been closed since April. The more than $22 million project has been replacing more-than-century-old storm sewers to reduce the risk of flooding in the area.

In April, the city said it intended to reopen the streets to traffic by the start of the KU football season, and Michael Leos, a spokesman for the city, said Wednesday that was still the plan.

Leos said that some work on Ninth could continue into September, but that the street wouldn’t be completely closed down again.

Iowa Street

The Journal-World recently reported that northern Iowa Street would be reduced to one lane in each direction for maintenance starting next week.

The project will begin on Monday, July 6, and run from Sixth Street to Harvard Road. It will include asphalt mill and overlay work, new pavement markings, curb and gutter replacement and sidewalk accessibility improvements. At first, expect the outside lanes to be closed; when the work there is complete, the closures will switch to the inside lanes.

Work on Iowa Street is expected to be finished by September.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Lanes on Bob Billings Parkway are closed for construction on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Bob Billings Parkway

Construction on Bob Billings Parkway in western Lawrence will continue through November, the city now says.

In December 2025, the city began a major reconstruction project on Bob Billings between Kasold Drive and Wakarusa Drive that was expected to go on for about a year. The project includes repaving from Wakarusa to Monterey Way and a complete reconstruction of the street from Monterey Way to Kasold, including new pavement and medians, a new shared-use path, water main replacement and storm sewer upgrades.

Originally, the plan was to do the Kasold Drive to Monterey Way reconstruction in the first half of 2026, and then the repaving from Monterey Way to Wakarusa Drive in the second half of the year.

But Leos said the city changed the project schedule so that the contractor could complete all of the eastbound work from Wakarusa to Kasold first. That work will be finished in early August, he said, after which the construction work will shift to the westbound lanes.

Massachusetts Street

A project to reconfigure Massachusetts from 14th Street to 23rd Street is on track to begin this fall, the city says.

That part of Massachusetts is currently two lanes in each direction, but it will be reconstructed with one lane in each direction and a shared center turning lane, along with physically protected bike lanes on either side of the road.

The city previously said that construction would start in August, but Leos said Wednesday that construction was now expected to start “in fall of 2026.” He said that some utility relocation work might take place over the summer, however.

South Lawrence Trafficway

Some traffic changes were recently made on the South Lawrence Trafficway project, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation. In late June, the Sixth Street ramp onto westbound K-10 closed, and it will stay closed through November. The Sixth Street ramp onto eastbound K-10 and the exit ramp from eastbound K-10 to Bob Billings Parkway also reopened after being closed since February.

The $171 million South Lawrence Trafficway project began in 2024 and is overseen by the Kansas Department of Transportation, not local government. It will expand the western section of the trafficway from two lanes to four, and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

Street maintenance program

The city’s street maintenance program, which does patching, milling and overlay work on neighborhood streets, is continuing this summer. The next project will focus on streets east of Harper Street and south of East 15th Street, and it’s scheduled to begin this month and be completed in August.

Leos said that as scheduling information for future street maintenance projects became available, it would be shared on the city’s street maintenance web page: lawrenceks.gov/mso/street-maintenance.