photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

Construction crews moving earth just south of the K-10 and U.S. 59/Iowa Street exchange in Lawrence on April 15, 2026. Beginning Monday, April 20, construction work will close down access to the K-10 eastbound ramp for drivers heading south on U.S. 59, and traffic both directions will reduce to one lane for near the interchange until September.

Starting Monday, South Lawrence Trafficway construction work will close access to the eastbound ramp for drivers heading south on Iowa Street through the summer.

The Kansas Department of Transportation announced in a press release Wednesday that it will reduce U.S. 59 to one lane in each direction between the westbound K-10 ramps and North 1200 Road. With that lane reduction, drivers heading south along Iowa Street from Lawrence will not be able to turn left to access eastbound K-10.

KDOT said in the release that southbound traffic can use a marked detour on West 31st Street and Haskell Avenue or use alternate routes that are not marked. The lane reduction and closure of the eastbound K-10 ramp to southbound traffic is expected to be in place until September.

Construction on the approximately $171 million project, which is expanding the SLT from a two-lane road to a four-lane road with a median, has led to other closures in recent months. Two exit ramps on K-10 — the U.S. 40/Sixth Street ramp onto eastbound K-10 and the eastbound K-10 exit ramp to Bob Billings Parkway — have been closed since February, as the Journal-World reported. KDOT officials said those exits are expected to be closed until late May.

KDOT plans to improve the interchange at U.S. 59/Iowa Street by consolidating the intersections on the south side of the interchange with folded diamond ramps, according to its website. KDOT will build a pedestrian bridge across Iowa Street north of K-10, which is expected to cost $1.5 million and is part of an agreement between the City of Lawrence and KDOT.

The overall SLT expansion project is still on track to finish in late 2028, according to KDOT officials.

photo by: Kansas Department of Transportation

A map showing the future improvements planned around the U.S. 59/Iowa Street and K-10/South Lawrence Trafficway interchange.