Kansas to spend $361M on crowded highways in Johnson, Wyandotte counties. Here’s where
Kansas is preparing to spend $361 million on highways in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in areas that pose congestion and safety issues, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday.
Four new projects in the Kansas City metro will receive nearly half of a broader statewide plan for $750 million in highway improvements paid for with local and federal dollars:
▪ Kansas 10 highway: The biggest project spends $223 million to study and expand K-10 between Kansas 7 and Interstate 435 in Johnson County. The state will determine if eight lanes are necessary and where six lanes are sufficient.
▪ Interstate 35: $74 million will go to safety improvements, including adding lanes, on this high-traffic area in Olathe, from Old 56 highway to 119th Street.
▪ I-35 and Santa Fe Street: $40 million will go to improving this interchange in Olathe to address safety concerns.
▪ Interstate 435 and State Avenue: $24 million will pay to reconstruct this interchange in Wyandotte County. It will include a “diverging diamond” traffic pattern to help handle increased traffic for developments to the east and to accommodate pedestrians.
The projects are entering the state’s “development pipeline,” meaning engineering and design work will begin. Actual construction could be years away, Kelly said.
“The projects tackle longstanding needs for communities across the state,” Kelly said.
Kansas Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz said they will likely be funded through a combination of state and federal dollars, including the $2.6 billion Kansas received from the federal government to repair highways over the next five years as part of the infrastructure bill approved last month.
The state has not yet received full guidance on how the federal dollars will be spent, but Lorenz said the bill’s approval made her confident the state could afford the projects.
“We want to work with our partners to determine the best way to use these funds,” Lorenz said.
The projects are a continuation of the state’s 10-year Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Kansas to spend $361M on crowded highways in Johnson, Wyandotte counties. Here’s where."
