K-10 expansion brings improvements but long timelines

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Je'Ney Jackon's nearly-daily drives from Lawrence to the Kansas City metro for work make him an expert on when it can quickly get him where he needs to go and when he might need another route.

"It depends on the time of day," said Jackson in a gas station right off the Lexington Avenue exit. "If you hit it somewhere around nine, its pretty terrible. Very congested."

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Wednesday, residents got a look at what the next 40 years of K-10 work could look like after two years where KDOT studied the environmental and noise impacts along the route , along with potential projects to fix it.

KDOT came up with $1.23 billion worth of projects that could be done on the 16.5-mile stretch between I-35 and the Johnson-Douglas County line . The first work will focus on the eastern side of that region, where the largest number of people live and work already, and where there have already been some crashes.

"People are already experiencing that congestion," said KDOT Metro Engineer Michael Rinehart. "There are some instances of rear-end crashes and slow-moving traffic. So, to resolve that, we want to go to a minimum of six lanes."

Eventually, all 16.5 miles will have three lanes with new and upgraded on and off ramps at exchanges where traffic is increasing or where there have been crashes before. Those upgrades and additions will happen very slowly depending on state, federal, or city funding, accounting for what KDOT officials say will be a significant traffic increase through 2060.

"We'll build it in pieces as traffic volume or money beocmes availble," said KDOT Project Manager Steven Cross. "It usually comes down to funding."

A previous study for potential toll lanes ruled out those kinds of lanes, meaning all the extra lanes that will eventually be added will be open for all drivers.

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There is one more public session on Thursday, November 14 at Kansas State University – Olathe's Great Plains Room at 22201 W. Innovation Drive, Olathe, KS from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.