photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

The Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center is pictured on Thursday, November 5, 2026, during its renovation project.

Construction has started up again recently at Lawrence’s outdoor pool and is close to finished on a road and stormwater project next to it on Tennessee Street.

The Tennessee Street improvements and the Outdoor Aquatic Center renovation, which is now in its second phase, have been taking place on and off for months now. But earlier this week, one newly paved lane of Tennessee opened up between Sixth and Ninth streets, and crews are now repaving the other lane.

Michael Leos, a spokesman for the city’s Municipal Services and Operations department, said Thursday that the paving work on Tennessee had encountered some unexpected issues, but that the city expected it to be finished by next Thursday, Nov. 12. He said it could end sooner if the work all goes well. Some minor closures will occur once the paving work is finished as crews install concrete around the manhole covers in the street.

This part of Tennessee Street has seen periods of construction since 2025 as part of the Jayhawk Watershed stormwater project, and the most recent work began in July of this year. The pool, meanwhile, got some improvements to the locker rooms and main entrance in the first phase of construction, which ended before the summer swim season began this year.

photo by: Shawn Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Renovation work progresses on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at the Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center.

The two projects are sort of linked because of an old stormwater tunnel that ran beneath the zero-depth entry pool. Last year, the city discovered that the tunnel passed underneath the pool, which was structurally failing, and had to make a multimillion-dollar change to its plans to reroute the storm sewer through Watson Park.

Leos said Thursday that the problem with the old tunnel has now been resolved. He said it was filled in after the new storm sewer was completed on the south side of Seventh Street.

That means that the second phase of the Outdoor Aquatic Center can safely proceed, and dirt work has been visible at the site over the past couple of weeks. The city’s construction website says the pool renovation is on track to be finished by May 2027.

The storm sewer project also required the city to tear out a basketball court at the corner of Seventh and Tennessee, but Leos said this would be replaced, and that MSO and Parks, Recreation and Culture were looking at options that would be suitable for that low-lying site.

“The area will still flood, so we are looking hard at maintenance considerations,” Leos said. He said the new court would likely be installed sometime next spring.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Work progresses Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, on the Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center’s renovations.

photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Crews repave the lane on the west side of Tennessee Street on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026.