Douglas County extends Wakarusa Drive project timeline to 2030

Douglas County commissioners extended the Wakarusa Drive project timeline on Wednesday, giving the southwest Lawrence road plan until Nov. 1, 2028, to go out for bid and until the end of 2030 to be finished. Federal officials now require an environmental assessment before the road can move ahead.

The extension does not change the route itself. Wakarusa Drive is still planned to run south from Kansas Highway 10, cross the Wakarusa River and connect to East 1000 Road, cutting across federal property managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. County Public Works director Chad Voigt told commissioners that the environmental assessment is already underway, and the revised memorandum of understanding with the Kansas Department of Transportation reflects a more realistic pace for that review.

The earlier agreement, approved in 2024, had set a much tighter schedule, with bidding due by July 1, 2026, and completion by Dec. 31, 2028. The current environmental assessment contract with HNTB Corporation carries a maximum cost of $276,835.

The project has been listed as a high-priority road project in the Capital Improvement Plan since 2016. The road would restore a north-south connection in southwest Douglas County, improve access to city park facilities and help first responders reach areas south and southwest of Lawrence faster. It would also improve traffic and pedestrian safety by diverting vehicles away from the Clinton Lake dam, which now serves as the connecting route.

The planned road is a two-lane rural highway with paved shoulders, a design speed of 45 to 55 mph and an estimated traffic volume of 3,650 vehicles per day. The environmental review will examine cultural resources, wetlands, threatened and endangered species habitat, soils, floodplains, water quality, wildlife, noise, hazardous materials, recreation and public safety. Archaeologists plan shovel tests every 15 meters along parts of the route and deeper testing at about 45 locations to check for possible cultural or burial sites.

Douglas County could owe more than $9 million to KDOT under a cost-sharing agreement tied to work on the west leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway if the road is not built. Lawrence city leaders declined in 2023 to support using city funds for the extension after more than 20 residents objected.