Watson Park stormwater tunnel work to disrupt access starting July 6

Starting Monday, July 6, access around Watson Park, Tennessee Street and 7th Street will tighten, with one lane on Tennessee Street, a full closure of 7th Street and no parking in part of the area. The city is rerouting a storm sewer through Watson Park after crews found the old tunnel ran under the Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center’s zero-depth entry area.

The discovery came in early May 2025, after excavation exposed the true downstream tunnel alignment several degrees farther east than engineers had mapped. That put the existing sewer under the shallow entry section of the pool, which already had structural problems and is slated to be rebuilt and separated from the main pool area as part of the aquatic center renovation.

To avoid that conflict, commissioners approved Change Order No. 4 on Dec. 9, 2025, adding $4,816,108.45 to the job with Kissick Construction Co., Inc. The revised plan calls for abandoning the old sewer under the pool and installing about 500 feet of new 7-foot-by-7-foot storm sewer beneath Watson Park to the south side of 7th Street.

Tennessee Street will be reduced to one lane between 6th and 9th streets, with parking banned there until early October. 7th Street will close completely between Tennessee and Kentucky streets, a shutdown expected to run into late July or early August. The south sidewalk on 7th Street will also close. The Watson Park basketball court will be closed during the work, while the playground areas along Kentucky Street will remain open. The Lawrence Outdoor Aquatic Center itself is not expected to be affected.

The work is part of a larger stormwater overhaul built around a system that still includes a 1911 underground stone culvert. The system now provides less than a two-year level of service, meaning there is a 50% chance any storm could overwhelm it and send flooding into low-lying streets, alleys and the Ninth and Indiana intersection.

Construction began in late March 2025 and is expected to continue through early 2027. The broader plan also includes reconfiguring 9th Street from four lanes to three between Illinois and Vermont streets, adding wider bike lanes and parking spaces, upgrading sidewalks to meet ADA standards and installing a pedestrian hybrid beacon at 9th and Louisiana. In December, city staff estimated that keeping 9th Street open and then closing it again for the World Cup would have added about $400,000 in cost, so the Watson Park reroute was chosen to avoid another major shutdown.