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U.S. Highway 59

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At least 180 tickets issued in U.S. 59 patrol
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
If you're going to drive fast, at least buckle up.

KDOT hopes added police presence will help law click
Monday, March 14, 2005
Expect to see several police vehicles along U.S. Highway 59 this week. "We're going to have heavy enforcement there," said Lawrence Police Sgt. Dan Ward.

County to keep bargaining on U.S. 59 plans
Thursday, February 3, 2005
Douglas County commissioners were pleased Wednesday night that the Kansas Department of Transportation agreed to incorporate four of the county's six recommendations in its plan for U.S. 59 Highway.

County hits bump on U.S. 59 plans
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Kansas Department of Transportation officials are taking some projects tied to U.S. Highway 59 improvements off of Douglas County's hands, but not all of them.

Woman injured in U.S. 59 accident
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
(Updated Wednesday at 1:01 p.m.) A 21-year-old Princeton, Kan., woman was seriously injured Tuesday night in a one-car accident on U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence.

County harvests ideas for U.S. 59
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Douglas County commissioners are sold on proposing design changes for a new U.S. Highway 59 connecting Lawrence and Ottawa.

County commissioners seek design suggestions for U.S. 59
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Douglas County commissioners are asking for suggestions that could help drive the design of a new U.S. Highway 59.

State seeking input on U.S. 59
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Crossing the planned U.S. Highway 59 with a new bridge along North 200 Road would serve a handful of farmers and rural residents. And it would cost about $1.4 million.

Area briefs
Sunday, June 20, 2004
• Commission to help plan freeway to Ottawa
• Summit promotes voting among young adults
• Ryun campaign opens headquarters in Topeka

Sebelius warns of end to road work
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' administration told lawmakers Monday it was her way or maybe no highway. During a news conference and later at a hearing before a House committee, Sebelius' transportation officials blitzed the Legislature, warning that if lawmakers failed to approve the governor's plan to borrow $465 million to shore up the comprehensive transportation plan, dozens of road projects would face a dead end.

Sebelius asks cities to support highway plan
Thursday, January 29, 2004
(Updated Thursday at 6:40 p.m.) TOPEKA - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius today urged city officials to support her proposed re-structuring of the comprehensive highway plan.

New budget plan preserves Sixth St., U.S. 59 projects
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Projects to rebuild Sixth Street and relocate U.S. Highway 59 remain on track under Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' proposal to restructure the state's transportation program. But don't look for any money to finish the South Lawrence Trafficway in her budget proposal.

6News video: Highway 59 plans get underway
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Kansas Department of Transportation officials are selecting property for the highway's expansion.

State targets land for U.S. 59
Thursday, October 23, 2003
The state is preparing to buy land for a new freeway connecting Lawrence and Ottawa. The $210 million freeway, to be designated U.S. Highway 59, is still on track for opening in 2009, state officials said Wednesday.

U.S. 59 project moving ahead
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
(Updated Wednesday at 1:11 p.m.) Kansas Department of Transportation officials met Wednesday morning with county lawmakers and planners to discuss the future of U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence. At least 18 properties will be acquired in Douglas County for the expansion.

Highway 59 meeting
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
State transportation officials will meet with the Douglas County Commission from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday to discuss proposed improvements on U.S. Highway 59 in Douglas County.

6News video: Highway Patrol goes airborne
Saturday, October 4, 2003
Troopers are watching traffic on U.S. Highway 59 to improve safety.

Troopers take to the sky to nab lawbreakers on 59
Saturday, October 4, 2003
They're watching you. If you've traveled on U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence you probably didn't even see them, but chances are they saw you.

Extra patrols designed to make U.S. Highway 59 safer for travelers
Friday, August 15, 2003
Authorities have a message for drivers using a well-traveled but dangerous road between Lawrence and Ottawa: Slow down, drive safely or face the consequences.

6News video: U.S. 59 speeders will be caught
Friday, August 15, 2003
Lawrence police and Douglas County sherrifs will patrol the 20-mile stretch of highway more often.

State details deficient bridges
Friday, July 11, 2003
Two of the four state-maintained bridges in Douglas County that are considered "structurally deficient" are slated for repair or replacement during the next four years. But just because the other two aren't, state transportation officials say, doesn't mean the traveling public is in peril.

Safety first in U.S. 59 project
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Within seven years, U.S. Highway 59 will be a four-lane freeway 300 feet east of the existing highway -- but the state won't wait to improve safety on the road between Lawrence and Ottawa, Kansas' top transportation official said Friday.

Playing it safe
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Safety improvements to be made to U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence as planning for a new freeway continues.

State official confirms new U.S. 59 route
Friday, May 30, 2003
(Web Posted Friday at 2:53 p.m.) U.S. Highway 59 will be relocated to a new $214 million freeway to be built 300 feet east of the existing highway between Lawrence and Ottawa, the state's top transportation official announced Friday.

U.S. 59 to move 300 feet east
Thursday, May 29, 2003
State and federal transportation officials are expected to announce Friday that a new U.S. Highway 59 connecting Lawrence and Ottawa will be built about 300 feet east of the existing highway.
The alignment for the new $210.3 million freeway is the one recommended by the Federal Highway Administration, but it has been in question because of concerns raised by property owners and others.

U.S. 59 freeway go-ahead nears
Friday, April 25, 2003
Clearance for making detailed plans for a new freeway alongside U.S. Highway 59 could come within a month, a state highway official said Thursday.

U.S. 59 project still on, but may be delayed
Friday, January 17, 2003
Building a new $210.3 million freeway to replace U.S. Highway 59 between Lawrence and Ottawa remains on the books, the state's top transportation official said Thursday.

U.S. 59 lights warn drivers
Sunday, December 29, 2002
New flashing lights are warning drivers about a dangerous intersection along U.S. Highway 59 south of Lawrence. But the lights -- installed on signs approaching the turn onto Wells Overlook Road -- are no substitute for building a freeway to handle the 10,000 vehicles that squeeze through the area each day, officials say.

Group opposes recommended U.S. 59 alignment
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
(Updated Wednesday at 5:11 p.m.) The Franklin-Douglas Counties Coalition of Concerned Citizens said Wednesday it opposed a recommendation to build a new four-lane freeway 300 feet east of the current U.S. Highway 59.

Homeowners reflect on U.S. Highway 59 decision
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Not again. Judy Jackson already has moved her home once, and now that federal highway officials say a new U.S. Highway 59 should be built through her 20 acres of land in Franklin County, she figures she'll be packing again.

6News video: Budget cuts could halt US 59 project
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
6News reports on the problems facing the US 59 expansion project due to increasing cuts in the state budget.

Feds choose U.S. 59 route
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
The best way to slash the number of accidents on U.S. Highway 59 is to build a new four-lane freeway alongside the current road between Lawrence and Ottawa, the Federal Highway Administration has decided.

6News video: Alignment decision made on US 59
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
A four-lane road will be built just to the east of the existing highway.

Resident wins access to KDOT transcript
Saturday, November 30, 2002
Oswald P. Backus IV wants to make the Kansas Department of Transportation eat its words, and he went to court to raid the department's cupboard for the food. Backus, a member of the Franklin-Douglas County Coalition of Concerned Citizens, recently won a court judgment giving him access to the department's transcript of a public meeting regarding the future of U.S. Highway 59.

6News video: Courts order KDOT to release transcripts of closed meeting
Saturday, November 30, 2002
The Franklin-Douglas County Coalition of Concerned Citizens claim the transcripts show that KDOT is not interested in working with residents.

U.S. 59 decision due by Dec. 31
Saturday, August 17, 2002
The South Lawrence Trafficway isn't the only highway project seeking direction by the end of the year. Selecting a route for a new U.S. Highway 59 between Lawrence and Ottawa remains on track for a decision by Dec. 31, a state transportation official said Friday.

Freeway won't be safer, coalition says
Saturday, June 8, 2002
By Mark Fagan

The state's efforts to build a freeway connecting Lawrence and Ottawa have little to do with improving safety on U.S. Highway 59, but instead are a larger plan to complete a damaging highway network in northeast Kansas, a group that opposes the project said Friday.

Costlier U.S. 59 plan endorsed
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
By Mark Fagan

Faced with two choices for locating a controversial freeway, Douglas County commissioners said they would take the route that costs more, displaces more homes and businesses, and occupies more farmland.

Commission delays vote on 59
Thursday, May 16, 2002
By Mindie Paget

Douglas County Commissioners have a tough, divided road ahead of them.

County wants input on U.S. 59
Saturday, May 11, 2002
By Mark Fagan

Douglas County commissioners intend to support a route for a new freeway between Lawrence and rural Ottawa, and they're asking for advice before deciding which way to go.

County backs freeway plans
Wednesday, May 1, 2002
By Mark Fagan


No longer do Douglas County commissioners dispute the need to rebuild U.S. Highway 59 between Lawrence and Ottawa. The question now is where to build it. "I'm sold on the freeway idea," said Jere McElhaney, chairman of the commission, after a meeting with highway officials.

18 miles of danger
Friday, April 26, 2002
By Mark Fagan

State transportation officials didn't need to hear about another accident on U.S. Highway 59 to know the rural highway between Lawrence and Ottawa rates among the most dangerous in Kansas.
But a three-vehicle collision Thursday afternoon offered a dire but all-too-familiar reminder of why officials want to curb U.S. 59's dangers by building a new $200 million freeway nearby.

Accident on U.S. 59 sends five to hospitals
Friday, April 26, 2002
By Mike Belt

Five people were injured Thursday in a three-car collision south of Lawrence at a U.S. Highway 59 intersection well known for accidents.
The collision left two people in critical condition at Kansas City-area hospitals.

6News video reports: Several people were injured in an accident on U.S. Highway 59
Friday, April 26, 2002
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers believe the accident could have been avoided.

County commissioners ask for KDOT meeting
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
By Mark Fagan

Douglas County commissioners don't want to wait until a public meeting to get their questions answered about the future of U.S. Highway 59 between Lawrence and Ottawa.

Officials to query public on routing for U.S. 59
Saturday, April 13, 2002
By Mark Fagan

The route for a controversial highway project remains undecided, and state transportation officials will ask for the public's help choosing the correct path during a hearing later this month in Baldwin.

Draft EIS doesn't choose route
Saturday, April 6, 2002
By Mark Fagan

The Federal Highway Administration and the Kansas Department of Transportation still don't know exactly where they should rebuild U.S. Highway 59 between Lawrence and Ottawa. But they have settled on what it should look like.

Environmental study stalls U.S. 59
Friday, January 4, 2002
By Chad Lawhorn

Kansas highway officials still don't know when a key study on the environmental consequences of widening and possibly moving U.S. Highway 59 will be complete.
They also aren't certain the proposed project between Lawrence and Ottawa will survive state budget cuts. But they said Thursday that they believe it may have a better chance than other road projects.

U.S. 59 study's completion remains down the road
Friday, October 5, 2001
By Chad Lawhorn

The state's draft of an environmental impact study for proposed U.S. Highway 59 improvements is still at least two months away.

Highway 59 coalition voices concern for native prairies
Tuesday, July 10, 2001
By Mindie Miller

The proposed eastern alignment for U.S. Highway 59 would plow through at least six native prairies and uproot several endangered plant species south of Lawrence.
That's what a small band of volunteers from the Franklin-Douglas County Coalition of Concerned Citizens discovered in June 2000 when it combed properties along the proposed route, looking for endangered native plant species and prairie ecosystems, as part of an environmental impact study.

Study supports current U.S. 59
Friday, May 11, 2001
By Joy Ludwig

The coalition opposed to building a new route for U.S. Highway 59 released its own environmental impact statement Thursday.
The report by Joe Collins, a well-known expert on Kansas' amphibians and reptiles, showed there would be less impact on wildlife if the Kansas Department of Transportation were to expand the existing roadway instead of building a new one to the east.

Attorneys debate U.S. 59 proposals
Thursday, April 26, 2001
By Amber Stuever

A Kansas Department of Transportation official squared off against a familiar foe — and a class of environmentally conscious Kansas University students — in a debate Wednesday over the merits of the proposed expansion of an area highway.

Briefly
Thursday, March 29, 2001
• Appellate court to hear whistleblower case
• Southwest student confesses to threat
• Petition opposing casino turned over to governor
• Accident kills driver on U.S. Highway 59

Mason Farms development wins approval
Thursday, January 4, 2001
By Joy Ludwig

Douglas County commissioners Wednesday gave rezoning approval to a proposed development near Vinland, contingent upon several conditions.

KDOT report details U.S. 59 upgrade need
Thursday, November 2, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

The Kansas Department of Transportation has released the first two parts of a federally required study of KDOT's planned improvement of U.S. Highway 59. The environmental impact statement will detail the effects of the highway project on the surrounding land and people, said Marty Matthews, KDOT spokesman.

Candidates sound off on U.S. 59
Monday, October 16, 2000
By Tom Meagher

Between cookies and cake, Douglas and Franklin county residents questioned candidates about their stances on plans to change the route of U.S. Highway 59. About 20 people attended the meeting Sunday afternoon at the Unitarian Fellowship of Lawrence, 1263 N. 1100 Road, where all four Douglas County commission candidates shared their thoughts on the controversial plan.

Candidates polled on U.S. 59
Thursday, October 5, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

The future of U.S. Highway 59 will not be a divisive issue in the upcoming Douglas County Commission elections. The four candidates all prefer improvements to the current highway between Lawrence and Ottawa rather than a new freeway alignment being touted by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

A true bypass
Tuesday, August 22, 2000

Commission hears U.S. 59 concerns
Thursday, July 13, 2000
By Joy Ludwig
Journal-World Writer

Though Douglas County commissioners have heard it many times before, someone Wednesday asked if the county could address safety concerns at Baldwin Junction. At least six months ago, the Kansas Department of Transportation removed the 45 mph reduced speed limit signs along U.S. Highway 59 near the junction, where U.S. Highway 56 crosses.