Work to begin an extensive rebuild of U.S. 54 through Iola has begun.
Crews arrived en masse Monday to set up barricades and signage, paring traffic through downtown Iola to two lanes, and closing off the north intersections to Chestnut, Walnut, Washington, Jefferson and Sycamore streets.
Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said he expected asphalt removal to commence promptly, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
All downtown parking along the highway is off limits as well.
If all goes well, the north half of the highway will be rebuilt by early August, at which time the two-way traffic will shift to the northern lanes in order for the southern half to be rebuilt.
The hope is to have the downtown area completed by October.
Schinstock said he has fielded questions from pedestrians asking about sidewalk closures along the construction route, noting downtown street lights and traffic signals will be removed as well. (That work is also expected to begin soon.)
The signage, ordered by the Kansas Department of Transportation, is to make pedestrians aware of construction equipment nearby.
“There’s no intent to have the sidewalk completely closed,” Schinstock said. “People can still utilize the sidewalks as long as there isn’t construction happening in that location.”
If there’s anything fortuitous about the timing, it’s that water crews have nearly cleared the downtown area entirely to replace water mains along the south side of the thoroughfare.
Once the downtown work is complete, the focus will shift to points east, from Buckeye to east of Kentucky Street.
ON TOP OF rebuilding the highway and its sidewalks, crews also will reduce traffic lanes from four to three from Sycamore to Kentucky, with single lanes in either direction and a turning lane in the middle.
The sidewalks will be widened to eight feet for most of the stretch as well, and pedestrian-friendly elements will be added.
Bettis Asphalt and Construction, Inc., of Topeka is the primary contractor on the $12.2 million project. About a third of the project relating to pedestrian and bicycle paths is funded by a $4.2 million grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
