UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, February 16, 1995
5A
Trafficway route undecided
Douglas County halts study considering southern route
By Sarah Morrison Kansan staff writer
Routing the South Lawrence Trafficway south of the Wakarusa River should not be ruled out by Douglas County and Kansas Department of Transportation officials, said representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency.
John Pasley, project coordinator of Douglas County, said at a Feb. 1 meeting that the county and KDOT were no longer studying the feasibility of the southern route.
In a Feb. 7 letter, Gene Gunn, chief of the EPA's Environmental Coordination and Review Section, responded to Pasley's announcement by warning officials that a route north of the river might not meet the impact analysis required by the National Environmental Protection Act.
Pasley said the route would not relieve congestion on 23rd Street and would tack on an additional $7 million to the $85 million trafficway price tag.
Gunn questioned the county's claim that the southern route would not be feasible because motorists would have no access to the trafficway across the river between K-10 and Highway 59.
"Since not all cultural/archeological studies and biological evaluations are yet completed, it seems premature to limit the range of alternatives at this point in the NEPA process," Gunn wrote.
The letter mentioned the interchange at the intersection of Haskell Avenue and 23rd Street as a possible solution to the problem of access.
"Since Haskell and Louisiana avenues already cross the river, it would seem that traffic could exit the trafficway and maintain access to the southern portion of the city," Gunn wrote.
Pasley said the letter from the EPA would not change the county's position on building the trafficway south of the river.
"We are still adamant that going north of the river is the only route that will relieve internal Lawrence street traffic," Pasley said. "All of the studies we have done through KDOT agree with that."
Proposed trafficway routes The following are the four proposed routes that Douglas County officials are studying for the South Lawrence Trafficway.
Haskell University objects to this route because they say it would destroy the theirs of their wetlands.
2 Baker University objects to this route because they say it would destroy their wetlands.
Environmental Protection Agency opposes this route because it would rain like a hailstorm. Wakauras floodplain.
Douglas County officials oppose this route because they say it would cost too much and divert little traffic from Lawrence.
"We are still adamant that going north of the river is the only route that will relieve... traffic"
John Paisley project coordinator of Douglas County
928 Mass.
Downtown
The southern route is preferred by those opposing the originally planned 31st street route because it is the only proposed alternative route that would not bisect wetlands owned by Baker and Haskell universities.
The Douglas County Commission will decide the final route of the trafficway later this year when a supplement to the environmental impact study, completed three years ago, is finished by federal officials.
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