Expect the Mechanic Street underpass to be closed for a while, starting this week.
Monday is when the underpass should close to traffic as Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s contractor begins work on repairing the railroad bridge on the top side of the structure. Neither the railroad nor the contractor have said how long they expect work will last.
Detours will be posted. Drivers are asked to be patient and use the detours throughout the project.
Meanwhile, with about a month officially left in the project, crews have made a lot of headway in their repaving work involving Commercial Street from the railroad tracks north to 12th and Sixth Avenue between Mechanic and Neosho. Commercial Street — Kansas Highway 99 — is fully paved and is awaiting final striping. Sixth Avenue, or US Highway 50, has more work ahead. The eastbound outside lane is paved from Neosho to Mechanic, while the westbound outside lane is paved from Constitution to Mechanic. The inside lanes in both directions and the center turning lane have been milled but not paved.
Further south, the Kansas Department of Transportation is beginning a resurfacing project on US Highway 54 from Eureka east to Yates Center. This is a mill-and-overlay process that may be completed by late fall.
Shilling Construction of Manhattan won the contract with a $4.7 million bid. Flaggers and a pilot car will guide traffic through the work zone. Delays of up to 15 minutes are expected.
