Commissioners to weigh environmental study for South Wakarusa Drive extension

Douglas County commissioners were again facing the question of whether South Wakarusa Drive should become a real road south of Lawrence, but the immediate decision was no longer about asphalt. It was about whether the county can complete the environmental study needed before the project moves any farther.

The proposed extension, identified in county records as Project 2021-R1, would push Wakarusa Drive south about 1.5 miles from K-10 Highway, cross the Wakarusa River and connect with Douglas County Route 5, also known as East 1000 Road. County materials say the road would be built as a two-lane rural highway with speeds of 44 to 55 miles per hour, a design that could alter traffic patterns on the city’s southern edge and change how development pressure reaches the Wakarusa Valley.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined in February 2026 that an Environmental Assessment meeting NEPA standards was required before the extension could be authorized. Because most of the land involved is federal property leased to the City of Lawrence, the county cannot move ahead with further work until that step is complete and the Corps gives authorization.

County records show Public Works has been working with BG Consultants on bridge locations, wetland impacts and geometric layout. A screening berm is proposed along the existing golf course to reduce impacts, and the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department supports that plan. The recommended alignment is said to resemble a concept shown in the 1974 Clinton Reservoir Area Comprehensive Plan, underscoring how long this corridor has been part of Douglas County planning.

The project has been in the county’s Capital Improvement Plan since 2016, and it has stayed controversial because of the wetlands in the Wakarusa River corridor and concerns raised by Native American community members about land viewed as sacred. Environmental groups and local activists have opposed the extension for years, warning that a new road could damage sensitive ground just south of Lawrence.

Supporters have argued the extension would give rural residents a needed north-south route and help the county absorb future traffic growth tied to regional development, including the Panasonic battery plant in De Soto. In June 2024, county officials estimated the road could carry about 3,650 vehicles a day, and commissioners approved an approximately $91,000 contract with BG Consultants for preliminary engineering. At that time, staff projected construction could begin in October 2025 and the road could open in 2026.

The project also has been tangled up with broader transportation planning. In 2022, local funding for the road was folded into a larger South Lawrence Trafficway and K-10 package, but the City of Lawrence later backed away from support for the extension itself. Some officials have warned that the Wakarusa project could overlap with Kansas Department of Transportation’s widening work on the South Lawrence Trafficway and complicate first-responder routing, especially for ambulance traffic from Baldwin City.

For Douglas County residents, the environmental assessment is the gatekeeper. It will shape whether the extension advances at all, and if it does, what constraints on wetlands, river crossings and land use will come with it.