On February 12, Gov. Brownback and Kansas Secretary of Transportation King announced the start of preliminary engineering for the redesign of the I-135/I-235/K-96/K-254 interchange plus 12 bridges on I-235 from Zoo Blvd. to N. Broadway.
New T-WORKS projects announced on November 14 for Sedgwick County:
Highway projects
- K-96 from Maize to I-235, 6 mile mill & asphalt overlay (starts in July)
- U.S. 54 through Goddard, concrete patching + asphalt overlay on eastbound (started June 3)
- K-96 from I-135 to Greenwich Rd., concrete patching (started in April)
- U.S. 81 from 71st St. S. to 59th St. S., concrete patching, grinding, sealing, striping (nearly finished)
- U.S. 54 from Garden Plain to 199th St. W., joint sealing (started June 2)
- I-135 from 21st St. to 37th St., concrete patching (starts in July)
- I-135 from 37th St. to Park City, concrete pavement reconstruction (2014)
Bridge repair
- I-135 over K-15 (Hydraulic), bridge repair (completed May 2013)
- K-96 bridge at 45th St. in Maize, emergency repairs (completed August 2012)
- I-135 to K-254 bridge repair (completed October 2012)
- U.S. 54 at West St., bridge repair (completed April 2013)
- I-135 at 61st St. N. Chisholm Creek bridges repair (completed May 2013)
- I-135 four ramp bridges repair
- I-235 at 25th St. bridge repair (started June 3)
Two modernization projects on U.S. 54 from 151st St. W. to 135th St. W. (frontage roads) (bids in June)
Expansion projects
- I-235 at 13th St., $37.2 M, starts soon
- Madison Ave. from Water to Buckner in Derby
- U.S. 54 Cypress to Wiedemann, $67M Kellogg Freeway extension (FY14)
Check out the (almost) daily postings on Facebook from Wichita KDOT.
The two-year construction of the I-235 & 13th St. Project (sponsored by the City of Wichita) will result in an exit ramp from NB I-235 to WB 13th St. and EB 13th St. to SB I-235. Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co. of Wichita submitted the low bid ($23,111,124.58).
The first phase (Red Project) of the I-235 & U.S. 54 Interchange rebuild doesn't begin until 2015 but you can read about it now at www.235kelloggcentral.com.
WICHway, Wichita's Intelligent Transportation System for metro highways, has a website: WICHway.org. Check out the camera tours!
 |
| KDOT activities in the Wichita Metro. |
You can view all scheduled transportation work in Kansas and create a custom project list with maps at the T-WORKS website.
KanDrive, www.kandrive.org, is a valuable web portal that provides info on weather, highway conditions and construction plus camera views from around the state.
MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century) is the new two-year (through Federal FY 2014) $105 billion federal transportation program. Read the summary.
Ozone levels exceeded recommended levels in Wichita 13 times in 2012.
The City of Wichita's weekly traffic report and maintenance project updates are online at the City's Public Works site. Click on “Major Construction Projects for Streets & Buildings” to view the current PDF (updated weekly).
A passenger rail Service Development Plan can be viewed as a 163-page pdf document at KDOT's Passenger Rail page.
Kansas Gov. Brownback announced a new group of T-WORKS projects for southcentral Kansas on May 31, 2011. Included for the Wichita area:
- I-235 & U.S. 54 interchange. Phase 1 includes flyover ramps for SB I-235 to EB Kellogg and NB I-235 to WB Kellogg plus other improvements.
- Two projects on East Kellogg (U.S. 54/400) -- KTA and Webb Road area then another mile east of that.
- Right-of-way $ match of 2:1 (State:Local) for the Northwest Bypass.
Wildflowers and prairie grasses were planted in April 2011 at the I-135 & Kellogg interchange. A dormant planting of wildflower seed was also made at the I-135/I-235/K-96/K-254 interchange in November 2010. Patience...
Beeline Express, a bus service serving Wichita to Salina (two roundtrips/day) and Wichita to Pueblo, Colorado (one trip/day) began in November 2010 .
These are cool: Historic State Maps of Kansas. The first highway map is from 1918.
The Amtrak Feasibility Study for expanded passenger rail service (including restoration of service to Wichita) is available for your review. A number of helpful documents are posted at www.ksdot.org (scroll down to Amtrak News).
An enhanced 511 Mobile application is available at http://511mm.ksdot.org.
Can the Wichita Metro Statistical Area (Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey & Sumner counties) stay in compliance with federal air quality standards? Check the metro Air Quality Index for particulate matter, ozone and carbon monoxide.
If you use the Kansas Turnpike a lot, you might want to subscribe to their text messaging service. Info on weather, road conditions and crash-related traffic problems are sent to your phone. Sign up >>
K-TAG is the Kansas Turnpike Authority's electronic tolling program. You can save 15% and breeze through the toll plaza without stopping. Easy to purchase (online or at several retail outlets) and easy to use. Read about the two K-TAG options.
Current Projects
Click on the tab for details on current projects.
25th St. Bridge over I-235
Bridge over I-235 at 25th St. N.
Start date: June 3
Completion: July
Contract amount: $59,857.50
Prime contractor: Wildcat Concrete, Topeka
Scope of work: Bridge repairs, deck patching, new driving surface.
Special notes: Bridge will be completely closed. No access to or from SB I-235. NB I-235 ramps will remain open. Right lane closed on NB I-235 with a reduced speed limit of 50 mph.
I-135 Bridges at 53rd
I-135 Bridges at 53rd St. N.
Start date: June 17
Completion: Late August
Contract amount: $556,252.25
Prime contractor: Wildcat Concrete Services, Topeka, KS
Scope of work: Bridge repairs, new driving surface, new bridges approaches
Special notes: Single lane closed, each direction. 50 mph in the work zone. 53rd St. ramps will remain open.
I-235 at 13th St. 
Ramps added for NB I-235 to 13th St. & 13th St. to SB I-235
Start date: Dec. 3, 2012
Completion: November 26, 2014
Contract amount: $23,111,124.58
Prime contractor: Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co., Wichita
Scope of work: Improvements to 13th & Windmill Road and two new I-235 ramps with bridges over the Big Ditch.
Special notes: Sponsored by the City of Wichita (funds from sales tax used for design and construction). Speed reduction (50 mph) on I-235, Central to Zoo Blvd.
Patching on K-96
K-96 from I-135 to Greenwich Rd.
Start date: April 2
Completion: July
Contract amount: $409,640
Prime contractor: Chester Bross Construction, Hannibal, MO
Scope of work: Concrete patching.
Special notes: Night work, Sundays -- Thursdays, 6 pm - 6am. Single lane closures + ramps as needed.
U.S. 54 Goddard
U.S. 54 through Goddard, 215th to 183rd
Start date: June 3
Completion: July
Contract amount: $463,075.20
Prime contractor: Bryant & Bryant Construction, Halstead
Scope of work: Concrete patching on EB & WB, asphalt overlay on EB U.S. 54, striping
Special notes: Asphalt overlay on eastbound U.S. 54 only. Single lane closure.
Future Projects
Click on the tab for details on future Wichita projects.
I-235 & Kellogg
I-235 & U.S. 54 Interchange, Phase 1
Bids Open: Sept. 2015
Construction Starts: Late 2015
Scope of work: First phase of interchange reconstruction includes two-lane flyover ramp for SB I-235 to EB Kellogg, a one-lane flyover ramp for NB I-235 to WB Kellogg and auxillary lanes for I-235 from U.S. 54 to Central St.
More info: The Red Project at www.235kelloggcentral.com
Kellogg & Webb
Kellogg Freeway from Kansas Turnpike to east of Webb Road
Bids Open: Late 2013
Construction Starts: 2014
Scope of work: Construction of freeway from Eastern St. to 1/2 mile east of Webb Road. Includes a combined interchange for Webb and the Kansas Turnpike Authority's toll plaza.
More info: Multi-year project.
Kellogg, Webb to Greenwich
Kellogg Freeway from east of Webb Rd. to east of Greenwich Rd.
Bids Open: Not scheduled
Construction Starts: ?
Scope of work: Construction of U.S. 54/400 freeway continues with an interchange at Greenwich Road.
More info:
West Kellogg
Frontage roads for Kellogg Freeway (U.S. 54) between 135th St. W. & 151st St. W.
Bids Open: June 2013
Construction Starts:
Scope of work: Construction of frontage roads.
More info:
NW Bypass
K-254 from Maize to Goddard
Bids Open: Not scheduled
Construction Starts: ?
Scope of work: A freeway connecting K-96 at Tyler Road to U.S. 54 east of 183rd St. West
More info: Some right-of-way has been acquired but funds are not currently available to construct this project.
More news:
75 mph speed limit signs are in place on 807 miles of Kansas highways. See the map of 75 mph routes in Kansas.
KDOT's 2012 annual report is available. And the 68-page appendix offers more comprehensive info.
Hard to argue with this: 2001 - 2010 was the greatest decade ever for Kansas transportation. See KDOT's decade report.
Deer can be spotted on Kansas highways any time of year but are especially active during the rut -- which peaks in mid-November. There were 9,109 deer-vehicle crashes reported in 2010 -- 391 in Sedgwick County.
This is NOT good news: The Kansas county with the most deer vs. vehicle crashes in 2009? Sedgwick. See the stats.
Keep Right, Pass Left. A Kansas law requires that drivers on roadways outside of cities, with two or more lanes in the same direction, must drive in the right lane unless they are making a left turn or passing another vehicle (fine is $60 + court costs).
Put the phone down and drive! Kansas joins 29 other states: drivers caught writing, sending or reading a text message while on a public road or highway = $60 fine + court costs.
Going fishing? Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks provides weekly fishing updates and KDOT has a couple of public access lakes at Hydraulic and 45th St. North. Here are maps to many of Sedgwick County's fishing locations.
| |
KDOT Wichita Metro |
West Office East Office |
