Highway progress

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly

By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)

Originally published 02:19 p.m., July 3, 2008
Updated 02:19 p.m., July 3, 2008

Photo by Adam Vogler

Linda Nixon takes tolls at the new toll plaza at the I-35 Kansas Turnpike Interchange which opened for business Wednesday, July 2. The 15 year Kansas Turnpike Authority employee's license plate reads "ticket taker".

Mother Nature finally cooperated a little with Tony Menke and the construction crews reconfiguring the convergence of Highway 50, Interstate Highway 35 and the Kansas Turnpike.

“It’s been nice,” said Menke, who is project manager for the work. “We’ve actually got some stuff done; we can get some stripes put down.”

Work on the new, improved highways, bridges, signage and the KTA interchange has been hampered almost since the project began, often by snow and ice and this year by heavy and frequent rains. Recent sunshine and minimal rain gave crews an opportunity to work.

As a result, Menke was able to open all four lanes of Highway 50, both eastbound and westbound, on Tuesday.

By late afternoon Wednesday, entries and exits to the new turnpike interchange also had been opened and the new toll palza had begun operations.

The Highway 50 re-opening has caused a temporary detour for eastbound traffic until other work can be completed, Menke said. Westbound traffic will not be affected.

To enter the turnpike or I-35, drivers headed east on Highway 50 will need to go to Industrial Road and turn north to reach the appropriate ramps.

Photo by Adam Vogler

Linda Nixon takes tolls at the new toll plaza at the I-35 Kansas Turnpike Interchange which opened for business Wednesday, July 2. The 15 year Kansas Turnpike Authority employee's license plate reads "ticket taker".

“All access to the turnpike has to come down I-35,” Menke said. “Eventually Highway 50 and I-35 will be connected just real close to the toll plaza. The two roundabouts will be connected. Right now, we’re building the connector road between. That’s what will take place once we get traffic shifted so we can tear out all the existing lanes, the temporary stuff they’re using now.”

The road is part of the next step in unraveling what has been called “the spaghetti bowl” of highways on west-side Emporia.

“By shifting traffic, this will allow us to work on everything else we need to complete to finish up the project,” Menke said.

Workers now can begin tearing out bridges and temporary roads, and begin working on the Graphic Arts bridge.

“Seeing a change like this is good,” he said. “... It’s cleared up a lot of congestion for Flying J, that’s for sure.”

Menke now is hoping for more sunshine and no rain, to allow work to resume on a bridge replacement just north Hartford on Highway K-130. The area near Hartford and Neosho Rapids consistently has received more rainfall than the city of Emporia.

“It sure hasn’t helped us out down at Hartford,” Menke said. “The lake’s still up enough that it’s holding water.”

Contractors need to be able to cut the old bridge supports, drop them and drag them from the river before other work can continue. Until water levels drop low enough to allow those cuttings, progress on the bridge replacement remains on hold.