Monday, May 5, the City of Wichita will extend work to reduce flooding problems in Old Town and the downtown core area. Storm sewer system construction will start on Wabash north of Douglas, just east of Old Town. Traffic on Wabash will be restricted to local traffic only. Over the next several months, construction will extend north on Wabash to 3rd Street, west on 1st and 3rd between Wabash and the elevated railroad tracks and west on 2nd to just west of Washington.
This summer, traffic on 1st and 2nd streets will be limited to one lane. 3rd Street will be limited to local traffic only and Washington will be limited to northbound-traffic only between Central and Douglas. Construction at the 1st and Washington intersection will require an estimated 10-day closure to all north-south traffic.
This work is a continuation of the project that began last fall on Douglas at the Wichita Drainage Canal (under I-135, which is also known as the Canal Route). That is where the Old Town/core area storm water will discharge. The work on Wabash, Washington, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Streets is to construct ‘intake’ portions of the system.
“This project will bring about a lot of construction right in the heart of the city. We understand it will be an inconvenience for some people,” said Stan Breitenbach, Special Project Engineer for the City of Wichita. “But the added drainage capacity is badly needed. Fortunately, the detours won’t take anyone very far out of their way.”
The work on Douglas will be completed this summer. The work in the Old Town/core area will be completed in February of next year.
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