Maple Lane project nears finish, K-10 ramp closure looms for drivers

Lawrence drivers got a brief sign of relief Friday as the long-running Maple Lane improvement project moved within one step of completion, but the same update also warned that fresh closures on K-10, U.S. 59 and Ninth Street were about to push traffic onto other routes.

Final line striping on 19th Street was the last major task before Maple Lane could wrap up next week, ending months of detours tied to the Maple Lane, 19th Street and Brook Street stormwater cap-improvement project. City planning materials describe the work as a drainage fix meant to eliminate street and property flooding, and the project was listed as a high-priority item in the city’s capital program.

The city has tied the Maple Lane work to the 1996 Stormwater Master Plan, which grew out of the severe flooding of 1993. That history still shapes the corridor today: city documents say the project called for replacing storm sewer along the west side of Maple Lane from 21st Street to Edgewood Park, and construction-preview materials warned that temporary traffic restrictions would hit Maple Lane in early 2025 and 19th Street from late 2025 into 2026 between Haskell Avenue and Harper Street.

While Maple Lane neared the finish line, the next disruption was already lining up for drivers heading west and south. The eastbound exit ramp from K-10 to Clinton Parkway was set to close the following week as crews worked on a new highway alignment tied to the South Lawrence Trafficway expansion. City planning documents have long described the South Lawrence Trafficway and K-10 corridor as a regional transportation issue, with the goal of improving efficiency on K-10 and easing truck traffic on 23rd Street, Iowa Street, 31st Street and Haskell.

Another major slowdown was coming to U.S. 59 Highway, or Iowa Street, south of Lawrence, where traffic was set to drop to one lane in each direction beginning the next week and continuing through early September. That section is part of the South Iowa corridor and has been the focus of ongoing traffic-signal and roadway planning, making it a key route for commuters and freight moving between Lawrence and points south.

Closer to downtown, Mississippi Street was also due for closures on both sides of Ninth Street as work continued on the Jayhawk Watershed project at 9th and Mississippi. City stormwater materials say the system is intended to reduce flooding, and planning documents warn that overflows there could affect nearby residential and commercial areas and send water along 9th Street, creating traffic problems on a major street that already carries heavy daily use.

Taken together, the update showed Lawrence entering another stretch when one project is finally ending just as several others start to reshape the drive across town.