photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Traffic on Sixth Street was reduced to one lane each direction between Monterey Way and Eldridge Street on Thursday, June 13.

The reconstruction project on Sixth Street still has a ways to go, and drivers can expect some new closures and restrictions in the coming weeks — as well as the reopening of a couple of downtown streets that have long been closed.

Starting on June 17, motorists will once again be able to turn onto Sixth Street from Kentucky Street, and the south side of the intersection of Sixth and Maine will also reopen. The Sixth and Kentucky intersection has been closed since the project began on Feb. 5.

But that won’t be the end of the work in the downtown area. A week later, on June 24, the curve where Sixth Street turns into New Hampshire Street, near City Hall, will be closed, and it isn’t expected to reopen until mid-September.

Elsewhere on Sixth Street, while intersections won’t be closed completely, there will still be lane reductions and other traffic impacts, according to the city’s website.

• Pavement patching, curb and gutter improvements and storm sewer upgrades will continue from Massachusetts Street to Iowa Street. In addition, 3,000 feet of waterline will be replaced on the north side of Sixth Street between Bluffs Drive and Maine Street, and an ADA-compliant shared-use path will be added to the north side of Sixth Street from Iowa Street to Wisconsin Street. This project is expected to conclude this fall.

• From Iowa Street to Folks Road, workers are doing pavement maintenance and curb and gutter upgrades. Nick Hoyt, an engineering project manager for the City of Lawrence, said improvements in this area are slated to be completed in late August, but that could extend based on weather and other delays.

• Within the same area, from Monterey Way to Eldridge Street, traffic is now reduced to one lane in each direction because city crews identified a large void underneath the street that needs to be repaired. As the Journal-World reported, crews will be replacing about 80 feet of storm sewer in the area, and lane reduction is expected to last until July 15.

One project that’s not connected to these other reconstruction projects is affecting the far west end of Sixth Street. On June 3, the Kansas Department of Transportation began the next phase of its project at the U.S. Highway 40-Kansas Highway 10 interchange, which closed Sixth Street between John Wesley Drive and George Williams Way, as well as all K-10 on- and off-ramps at the site. KDOT is building a new diverging diamond interchange layout at this location.

According to KDOT’s website, the K-10 ramps and at least one lane in each direction on U.S. Highway 40 are expected to partially reopen in September, and the diverging diamond interchange is scheduled to be fully open by the end of October.

In addition to the projects on Sixth Street, there are more construction projects taking place around Lawrence this summer.

• On June 17, city contractors will redirect southbound traffic on Wakarusa Drive onto the freshly laid pavement between Clinton Parkway and Research Park Way. The city anticipates this closure to last through July.

• Reconstruction of pavement and storm sewers, sanitary sewer work and bicycle and pedestrian improvements will continue on 11th Street from Indiana Street to Ohio Street. The $4.2 million project is expected to end in February 2025.

To stay updated on the latest closures and traffic impacts, you can sign up for weekly traffic alerts through the city’s website.