photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Construction cones to guide traffic during KU dormitory move-in day await to be deployed on Aug. 11, 2025. KU's Daisy Hill student housing complex is pictured in the background.

The annual Jayhawk migration is set to begin this week, and per usual, it will involve lots of vehicles and crammed city streets near residence halls across the University of Kansas campus.

KU students will start arriving en masse at KU dormitories on Tuesday, with the heaviest traffic days expected to be Wednesday and Thursday, KU officials said.

In general, Lawrence motorists should expect slow moving traffic from about 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday on a host of streets near the KU campus. Those streets include Bob Billings Parkway, 15th Street, West 23rd Street, Clinton Parkway, 11th Street, 14th Street and 19th Street. Iowa Street also may see heavy traffic, although KU officials are using move in routes that aim to keep move in traffic off of the section of Iowa Street that runs near campus.

The first day of fall semester classes at KU is set for Monday. Students living in dormitories are allowed to move in several days in advance, and new freshmen often participate in a host of “Hawk Week” activities leading into the start of classes.

KU’s residence halls have been at virtual capacity for the last two years, as KU has attracted its two largest ever freshman classes. KU leaders have stopped short of saying that the incoming freshman class will meet or exceed those totals, but overall enrollment at the university is expected to be near its highest levels.

During the last three years, KU has averaged about 5,700 students living in residence halls, scholarship halls or university-operated apartments, according to data kept by KU. That’s up from a long-term average of about 4,100 students, according to KU data.

To meet the increased demand, KU has been leasing various private apartment complexes near the university. That included a portion of the HERE apartment building near 11th and Mississippi streets, and Naismith Hall near 19th and Naismith.

Here’s a closer look at what motorists should expect on upcoming move in days:

• Tuesday: Residents at McCarthy Hall, Jayhawker Towers and Hawker Apartments will move in, with increased traffic largely on the KU campus and the area near the KU football stadium.

• Wednesday: Residents in Miller, Watkins, Rieger, Krehbiel, Battenfeld, Pearson, Sellards, Stephenson, Grace Pearson, Douthart, Margaret Amini and K.K. Amini halls will move in, with increased traffic expected on parts of Ohio, Louisiana and 14th streets northeast of the KU campus.

• Thursday: Residents in Self, Lewis and Ellworth halls and Stouffer Place Apartments will move in and create heavy traffic near the Daisy Hill dormitory district near 15th and Iowa streets. Residents in the Daisy Hill district will gather in the Lied Center parking lot, which is expected to create slow-moving traffic on Bob Billings Parkway just west of Iowa Street. Motorists will use the Daisy Hill bridge to cross Iowa Street, and then will exit Daisy Hill on 15th Street and travel through the main campus to park in the large parking lot across the street from Allen Fieldhouse.

• Friday: Additional residents in the Daisy Hill district will move in, specifically those in Downs, Oswald, Templin and Hashinger halls. They will use the same routes as noted for the Thursday move-ins. Additionally, residents in GSP and Corbin halls will move into the residence hall district on the northeast edge of the KU campus. Heavy traffic is expected on parts of Indiana, Mississippi and 14th streets as part of those moves.