KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- As of Tuesday, December 16, the U.S. 73/K-7 pavement replacement and bridge repair project in Leavenworth County will not be completed and will not reopen to traffic in late December 2014, as originally planned.
The primary contractor, KOSS Construction, has informed us that they will not be able to complete enough project work to safely open U.S. 73/K-7 to the traveling public this calendar year (2014).
KOSS Construction plans to continue work on the project through this Friday, December 19. From Friday, December 19, 2014 -Monday, January 5, 2015, KOSS Construction will suspend work on the project for the holiday season. They plan to be back to work on the project on Monday, January 5, 2015, weather permitting.
KOSS Construction plans to complete enough of the pavement work in January to open up the roadway to the traveling public by the end of the month, late January 2015, weather permitting. Once U.S. 73/K-7 reopens to the traveling public, the project will then be suspended for winter shutdown and work will resume in early to mid-April 2015, weather permitting.
Here’s what this means for drivers: The current detour will remain in place through late January 2015.
Once the roadway is reopened to unrestricted traffic, the detour will be deactivated until April 2015. Then sometime in April 2015, the detour will be reactivated and KOSS Construction will resume work on the project until all remaining work is completed.
KDOT maintenance crews will handle snow removal on the current detour route and Leavenworth County will take care of snow removal on the side road connections. KOSS Construction has hired a local contractor to address snow removal concerns on the closed portion U.S. 73/K-7 through the project work limits.
Local property owners will continue to access their properties in the same manner as they have these past months while construction has been underway.
Updated daily traffic information for this reconstruction project and for the entire Kansas Metro Area can be viewed online at:www.ksdot.org/kcmetro/laneclose.asp.
The Kansas Department of Transportation urges all motorists to be alert, obey the warning signs, and “Give ‘Em a Brake!” when approaching and driving through the project work zone.
The revised overall project completion date is now mid-summer 2015, weather permitting. (KDOT Project #73-7 KA-3529-01)
