Emporia’s spring construction season is unofficially underway.
East Sixth Avenue, or Highway 50, has a roughly two-to-three-week project as Bunge North America’s contractor maintains roads along its railroad spur crossings on the highway between East and Lakeview. Lane drops and shifts are underway.
The 1500 block of Merchant now has lane drops and shifts as part of work to improve entrances to the CrossWinds Counseling and Wellness administrative offices, long serving as Emporia State’s Chi Omega sorority house. That is another two-to-three-week project.
Starting as soon as Monday, the Kansas Department of Transportation will start building a concrete sidewalk and hike-and-bike path near 12th and Burlingame. Here’s City Engineer Jim Ubert:
Ubert says that project also connects to the restart of KDOT’s work to replace the Interstate 35 bridge over Lincoln Street because it has a similar hike-and-bike plan under the bridge and extending along the north side of Jones Park to Prairie Street. Work on the Lincoln Street hike-and-bike-path is set to start once the 12th and Burlingame path is built.
All this work is getting started as the city continues its work to upgrade water service through the 24th and Prairie waterline replacement project — and as work looms ahead for the Southeast Transmission Waterline Project, replacing existing pipes with new ones from 12th and Garfield to the water tower near South and Carter. Ubert says we could see work on both projects overlapping, depending on when the Southeast project starts — but they don’t cover the same territory.
City Engineering staff and others connected to the Southeast Transmission project are set to meet with Emporia city commissioners Wednesday. A related public meeting is set for 6 pm March 27 at White Auditorium City Conference Room 1AB. Work could start anywhere from mid-April to late June.
Weather and other factors permitting, the 24th and Prairie project could wrap up before June.
