More closures coming for Kellogg in Wichita next week. How to avoid traffic congestion
More construction on one of Wichita’s busiest highways means drivers might want to consider alternate routes.
A portion of Kellogg (U.S. 54) between Maize Road and 119th Street West will see traffic reduced to one lane each direction starting Monday, Aug. 21. The dual southbound left turn lanes on 119th Street will also be reduced to one lane, a city of Wichita news release said.
The lanes will be closed for roughly three months and will allow for concrete pavement repairs and a new asphalt surface east of 119th Street.
Drivers are encouraged to find alternate routes along city streets such as Maple, Pawnee and Central, when possible, the city said.
“Say you’re a Goddard resident, you might try to take Maple or Pawnee into the city of Wichita,” Wichita construction division manger Steve Degenhardt said by phone. “You could avoid a lot of that congestion.”
Electronic signs will be posted along Kellogg to provide advance notice of the lane closures.
The $550,000 joint project between the city and the Kansas Department of Transportation is expected to be completed in November.
Earlier this week, the Kansas Department of Transportation closed the ramp that connects westbound U.S. 54 to southbound I-235. That is slated to reopen in December, KDOT public affairs manager Tom Hein said.
“If they’re westbound on Kellogg [U.S. 54] and they want to go onto southbound I-235, probably the easiest detour is to go onto northbound I-235, get off on Central, do a turnaround and come back onto I-235 southbound,” Hein said.
Along with the closed ramp, construction will close the right lane of westbound Kellogg from West Street to the Big Ditch bridge. The West Street on-ramp to westbound U.S. 54 will be closed for the next 5 to 6 weeks, but could be extended until December, the Eagle previously reported.
The bridge will be reduced to one lane on the weekends, with work zone traffic being reduced to 45 mph in the area.
Degenhardt said the construction sites are roughly 3 to 4 miles apart from each other.
“Certainly another inconvenience for drivers using westbound Kellogg but I think their [KDOT] project timeline is similar to ours,” Degenhardt said. “Rather than being frustrated for potentially six months back-to-back, we’re getting both projects done at the same time.”
