The Kansas Department of Transportation will have a public meeting Thursday to show preliminary designs for planned improvements along K-96 in northeast Wichita.
KDOT has hired an engineering firm to design a project to expand K-96 from four to six lanes, with improvements for the interchanges at Hillside, Oliver, Woodlawn, Rock Road, Webb Road, Greenwich Road and East 21st Street North. The project will replace the interchanges at Woodlawn, Rock and Webb.
KDOT Public Affairs Manager Tom Hein said there are 50,000 to 63,000 cars per day through that section of K-96, and that is expected to increase to 100,000 vehicles per day by 2050, so now is the time to begin looking at improvements.
The open house will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the National Center for Aviation Training at 4004 North Webb Road, and it will be in Building 300. Hein said it will be an open house, but a formal presentation is planned at 6 p.m. He said these are preliminary designs, and KDOT will be looking for public input as the design process continues. More information on the project is available at the web site www.K96improvements.com
Construction on the K-96 improvements is not expected to begin until 2026, after work is complete on the North Junction improvements at I-135, K-254, I-235 and K-96. The project is part of the state’s IKE highway program.
