Olathe plans to repair a stretch of 119th Street in the city’s northwest that is in “extremely rough shape.”
As part of the city’s annual $20 million Street Preservation Program backed by the municipal transportation sales tax, Olathe will spend about $2.6 million on the project.
The work will focus on repaving 119th Street between Clare Road west to the city’s Cedar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and Laboratory property at 25915 W. 119th St.
The project is expected to wrap up in the fall of this year.
119th Street through Olathe is in “rough shape”
The street was once an improved asphalt street, but City Engineer Nate Baldwin said it has begun looking more like a gravel road.
“The road is in extremely rough shape,” he told the Olathe City Council earlier this month.
Baldwin said the plan is to lay down some asphalt base rock to build a “good road.”
The project includes better pedestrian and bike access
Some of the planned improvements will also focus on pedestrian and bike access in the area.
Specifically, the city plans to build a new 8-foot concrete sidewalk from Clare Road up to the Johnson County Cedar Niles Park trailhead on 119th Street, west of K-7. Baldwin said that will help people who live in the Forest View neighborhood and others along Clare access the park, which opened in 2022.
“Right now, bikers have very difficult opportunity to get there,” he said. “Because, right now, it is in very, very poor condition.”
Olathe will also build a new 5-foot sidewalk on the east side of Clare Road between 119th Street and 127th Street — about where Clare Road becomes Lakeshore Drive.
The Olathe City Council approved the repaving
- During its first meeting of the year, the Olathe City Council unanimously approved a contract with Pyramid Contractors for the physical construction of the project.
- The city council also authorized an agreement with Evergy to relocate some utility power lines and poles in the area that will be in the way.
- Initially, both items were listed on the consent agenda, but Councilmember Dean Vakas asked to discuss them further because it’s an “important project” for mobility through the city as it grows.
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