The Green Project – The First Step in Fixing Wichita’s North Junction, one of several projects approved

The North Junction in Wichita is a burden for some commuters, commercial delivery services, truckers and other Sedgwick County drivers. It is a pinch point that some avoid and some just suffer through, especially in the morning and late afternoon drive-times.

Four highways come together: I-135, I-235, K-96 and K-254 – and for some travelers, depending on the time of day, it is an annoyance that most would rather do without.

The first step to fixing the North Junction bottlenecks will soon begin. Earlier this month, three bids were opened for the I-235 Green Project in Wichita. Bergkamp King, A Joint Venture, LLC was the low bidder at $51,337.971.52 and the planned date for that start is March 11.

The I-235 Green Project is just the first phase of the Wichita North Junction fix. It will replace aging pavement, the structurally deficient bridges over the Little Arkansas River and the functionally obsolete bridges over Arkansas Avenue and Broadway. It also adds auxiliary lanes to I-235 and improves ramp geometry at the Broadway interchange.

Awarding the Green Project to a contractor is a big step in the life of the interchange reconstruction project. With the near-completion of the I-235 and U.S. 54 interchange project, the North Junction rebuild has advanced to a priority highway concern for the Wichita/Sedgwick County community. To further the rebuilding process and encourage the continuation of projects that will address the North Junction bottlenecks, Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita have teamed up to help finance right-of-way acquisitions for the next phase. They produced a video to share their support for this multi-phase project.

See the video at Wichita North Junction Video.

Find out more about the I-235 Green Project at Green Project Fact Sheet.

See all the phases of the North Junction reconstruction at North Junction Fact Sheet.

This is one of several projects approved in the January Letting. For the rest of the project list click here:

Bank stabilization repair one of many approved October projects

Construction on the Ninnescah Riverbank in Summer 2017 was the first phase of this erosion prevention project. 

The second phase of an emergency repair project near the Ninnescah River in Sumner County was one of more than 50 project bids approved in the Oct. 17 letting. This emergency repair project will help protect the area from flooding.

In 1986, a project was designed to reconstruct the Ninnescah riverbank to help reduce erosion in this area. The project included the installation of 15 steel pile jetties to assist with erosion prevention. Of the 15 jetties installed, six of them were later found to be slanted and all of them showed significant corrosion. In fact, comparing satellite pictures from 2002 and 2017, demonstrates the bank was still displaying signs of erosion even though jetties were in place.  

In September 2016 massive rainfall amounts caused the Ninnescah River to swell and flood U.S. 81 and K-55. KDOT saw a need to address this area. In mid-2017, the first emergency repair phase took place. That project focused on the area right along the highway where the highest chance of a slide could take place if another significant flood were to happen. Rock was placed to armor the toe of the slope, followed by a bed, filter and an additional stone layer to reconstruct and armor the bank.

The second phase of the emergency repair will focus on the remaining jetties that are not immediately adjacent to the highway. This phase will also include a significant amount of stone to be placed to armor the toe of the slope. Instead of just relying solely on rock, KDOT will plant willow trees, which will create root systems to give the slope a living protection against erosion.

Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co., INC., of Wichita is the contractor working on the $879,046.25 project.

To see the various stages of this project, click here.

To read more about the other approved projects, click here.  

Approved April lettings include work on I-70 in Gove County

Construction on I-70 in Gove County was one of the projects approved in April's construction lettings. 

Work on a nine-mile portion of I-70 in Gove County from one mile west of the K-23 spur near Grainfield to four miles east of K-211 is one of the projects included in KDOT’s April construction letting.

The I-70 project will be completed in three phases starting in 2018 with the construction of crossovers, temporary guardrail and other features necessary to carry head-to-head traffic. The eastbound pavement will be reconstructed in 2019, followed by the westbound portion in 2020.

Additional work will include pavement replacement at both the east and westbound rest areas near Grainfield, construction of new barbed wire right-of-way fencing, lighting installation at exits 95 and 99, and reconstruction of the box structure carrying county road 62 under I-70 into two new span bridges.

To see all of the April letting projects, click here.