photo by: KDOT

A $5.7 million project to improve a trio of federal highways north of Lawrence will get started Thursday, and significant traffic delays may begin as well.

Crews will begin work on three sections of U.S. highway, and much of the work will require motorists to be escorted through the construction zones via a pilot car. The three sections of highway are:

• The portion of U.S. Highway 24/40 that runs in front of the Lawrence Regional Airport north of North Lawrence. The work will stretch from the TeePee Junction intersection to the Douglas/Leavenworth county line.

• The portion of U.S. Highway 24/59 that runs from the TeePee Junction to Perry.

• The portion of U.S. Highway 59 that runs from Williamstown to Oskaloosa.

Crews with Bettis Construction will conduct repaving, pavement patching and the addition of a passing zone on U.S. 24 near Oak Road, east of Perry.

Work won’t be happening on all sections of the highway at the same time. The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to use digital message boards along the roadways to alert motorists a few days ahead of when work is scheduled to begin on a particular section of highway.

The entire project is expected to last until early November.