Progress has been slow but steady for Emporia’s massive 24th and Prairie waterline replacement project.
City Engineer Jim Ubert says crews are in the process of a significant milestone: getting under Interstate 35.
Getting under I-35 sets the stage for the project turning south. Work started in early June at 24th and Industrial, outside both the Emporia Water Treatment Plant and Emporia Pavilions shopping center. Work will push south to 12th over the next year, replacing pipes that are nearly 100 years old in a lot of cases and expanding them to as wide as 24 inches in diameter.
Another project that is moving along as expected is the paving of Road F between US Highway 50 and Road 180.
Besides the road improvements from a two-lane gravel road into a three-lane curb-and-gutter asphalt street, the improvements include storm sewer installation and a new 10-foot-wide hike-and-bike path.
This follows the opening of Evergy’s new regional service center on Road 180 west of Americus Road, including a similar road paving project on 180 between F and G.
