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Shawnee approves federal funds for long-awaited Midland Drive project

After more than two years of discussion in Shawnee, an $8.5 million project aimed at making Midland Drive safer is moving forward.

On Monday, the Shawnee City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation to receive $4 million in federal funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation Block Grant program. It received an 8-0 vote in favor of it.

The project brings ​​long-awaited improvements to Midland Drive between Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-435.

The new plans for Midland Road in Shawnee between Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-435 include 11-foot lanes for traffic, four-foot bike lanes and a five-foot sidewalk on the north side of the road.
The new plans for Midland Road in Shawnee between Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-435 include 11-foot lanes for traffic, four-foot bike lanes and a five-foot sidewalk on the north side of the road. Image via Shawnee city documents.

The project is in the design phase

Engineering firm Olsson Inc. is designing the $8.5 million project. The plan, as envisioned by the council in June 2023, includes:

  • Two 11-foot-wide lanes for traffic, a five-foot sidewalk on the north side of the road and four-foot bike lanes on both sides.
  • Curbs and gutters in place of ditches on either side of the road.
  • The nearby Lawrence Road will be vacated or removed from the current traffic system. That will require the reconfiguration of the parking set up at Johnson County’s Streamway Park, which will be affected by the loss of the road.

The project originally cost an additional $4 million

Funding for the project includes:

  • $4 million in Surface Transportation Block Grant funding
  • $2 million in Johnson County CARS (County Assistance Road System) funding
  • $2.5 million in city funding

When it was originally pitched to the city council in March 2023, it was budgeted at $12.5 million, with the city being required to cover about half of it. The city council at the time rejected it over concerns that it sacrificed too much residential property. It later approved a scaled-back version of the project.

Midland Drive between I-435 and Shawnee Mission Parkway is set for safety improvements in the next few years, but what exactly that will entail is up in the air after the Shawnee City Council unofficially decided to scrap some of the proposed design features.
Midland Drive between I-435 and Shawnee Mission Parkway. File photo.

Councilmembers were happy they held off

Councilmembers such as Tony Gillette, Jacklynn Walters and Kurt Knappen, who were serving on the city council when the project was introduced, touted the benefits of fiscal responsibility and listening to residents.

“This is probably the biggest win, I think, the last council had and we continue with it here tonight,” Knappen said. “We worked with residents and we actually declined the first offer for federal money. And then, thanks to our staff for doing a great job of going back directly with a newer, trimmed-down plan, we still got this incredible amount of money.”

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Gillette and Walters highlighted the $4 million that taxpayers saved and said they were thrilled to see what the project will look like.

“I’m excited to see a really great project that both the residents are going to be happy about, as well as the city’s pocketbook,” Gillette said.

Go deeper: Shawnee’s scaled-down Midland Drive upgrades move forward

About the author

Andrew Gaug
Andrew Gaug

👋 Hi! I’m Andrew Gaug, and I cover Shawnee and Lenexa for the Johnson County Post.

I received my bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and started my career as a business reporter for The Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio.

I spent 14 years as a multimedia reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press before joining the Post in 2023.

Have a story idea or a comment about our coverage you’d like to share? Email me at andrew@johnsoncountypost.com.

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