Work Zone Wednesday: Construction progress continues in Wichita

Wichita has three multi-year U.S. 54 freeway projects in motion and drivers see constant progress as they pass through the work zones.

In west Wichita, the first of four phases to rebuild the I-235/U.S. 54 interchange is scheduled to open to unrestricted traffic in the summer of 2019. Many of the challenges the estimated 150,000 daily drivers face as they navigate through the interchange will be addressed in the “Red Project.”

Some of the features include:

• A two-lane flyover ramp from southbound I-235 to eastbound U.S. 54
• A flyover ramp from northbound I-235 to westbound U.S. 54
• Elimination of two cloverleaf ramps that create merging challenges
• Complete reconstruction of four ramps at West Street, an interchange just east of the system-to-system interchange of I-235 and U.S. 54
• Auxiliary lanes on I-235 from U.S. 54 to Central Avenue
• Increased presence of WICHway, the Intelligent Transportation System that includes cameras, traffic sensors, message boards and a website to inform drivers of traffic adjustments and travel times.

Construction on the project affects traffic in many ways and news of lane and ramp closures can be found at www.235red.org.

The prime contractor on the four-year project is Dondlinger Construction of Wichita. To document their progress, they use a drone to capture video. Watch the July update.

What about the other two multi-year U.S. 54 freeway projects? They are on the east side of Wichita. The projects are adjacent and create a continuous construction area from the Kansas Turnpike’s toll plaza at mile 50 to the K-96/East Kellogg interchange. The finishing touches on that work zone will come in 2021. Check back for an update on those projects soon.