July letting paves the way for transit vehicles to utilize shoulder along I-35 in Wyandotte County

Transit vehicles have utilized the shoulders on I-35 in Johnson County since 2012. This service will now be expanded along I-35 into Wyandotte County as well.

A project to allow transit vehicles to utilize the shoulder along I-35 during times of congestion and continue the efforts of bus-on-shoulder operations in Wyandotte County is one of the projects approved as part of KDOT’s monthly construction letting for July.

In 2012, Johnson County Transit started operating on I-35 after legislation was passed in 2011 for the section in Johnson County only. Legislation passed last year allowing for it to be operational in Wyandotte County. Improvements along I-35 in Wyandotte County will be made as a part of this project, and completion of this project will now allow for usage of the shoulder on I-35 for the entire stretch from Johnson County to Wyandotte County.

The transit vehicles can operate on the shoulder at speeds of no more than 10mph above traffic flow and at a maximum of 35mph. The operation increases travel time reliability for the transit vehicles which can ultimately lead to increased usage of transit and serves as a congestion mitigation tool. In 2016 buses utilized the shoulder 2,053 times traveling more than 2,000 miles on the shoulder.

Gunter Construction Company of Kansas City is the contractor on the $119,058.15 project. To see all of the projects in KDOT’s July construction letting, click here.