After several years of discussion, a $12.4 million project aimed at making Midland Drive safer will start construction in early 2026.
On Dec. 8, the Shawnee City Council unanimously approved final plans for the Midland Drive Improvement Project from Shawnee Mission Parkway to I-435 and authorized city staff to bid the project.
The project brings long-awaited improvements to Midland Drive between Shawnee Mission Parkway and I-435.
The project has been in discussion for years
Long discussed by several city councils over the past few years, the narrow section of Midland Road that the project targets has been on the radar of both residents and city staff for years, Public Works Director Kevin Manning said.
“There’s not a lot of amenities here, and there are a lot of concerns from both the residents and the government about safety and what could we do to improve that,” he said.
Designed by engineering firm Olsson Inc., the project will include:
- 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.
Construction will expected to begin in March 2026 and go through November.
The project was originally meant to be constructed, but was delayed due to the construction of several projects, including the Kansas Department of Transportation’s I-435 Bridge Improvement Project.
“When that happened, it would have been extremely inconvenient and difficult to do our work simultaneously for residents along Midland,” Manning said.
Preparations for the project have begun
While construction won’t begin until early 2026, crews, including WaterOne, have already begun work relocating utilities on the road, Manning said.
In order to do that, throughout the winter the city may close short sections of the roads or keep one lane open. At night, steel plates will cover parts of the roadway under construction so vehicles can still access the road.
When construction begins, there will also be intermittent closures of sections of Midland Drive, Manning said. At some point in the project, there will also be a full closure of a section of road as they adjust a curve.
“Most of the time, at least one lane will be open, if not two lanes during construction,” Manning said.
The city recognizes headaches the project will cause
While the city expressed excitement for the project to start, they also recognized the construction fatigue the Midland Drive area is experiencing, Manning said.
To help with this, the city has been in contact with businesses and residents affected by the construction, like those in the Midland Entertainment District, to be transparent about the construction process.
“We recognize that fatigue and as you know, things change in construction or there’s closures, we’re going to do our best to continue to communicate with residents and businesses in the area, just recognizing that they have had to put up with a lot over the last two and a half years,” Manning said.
Before the project starts next year, City Councilmember Laurel Burchfield encouraged city staff to talk with the businesses again to be sure they’re aware of what’s coming.
“If we can, in any way, reach out to those businesses before our project starts, just to touch base, just to let them know the timeline one more time, I think that could go a long way in making sure that we have continued good relationships,” she said.
The project “will be worth it”
On that same note, Burchfield added that the construction frustration will eventually be worth the sacrifice once the project is finished.
“I think for this project in particular, we’re going to see such an improvement on safety and usability with this road,” she said.
The project will help connect the city better, said Jim Neighbor of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce during the meeting.
“It is going to connect the eastern part of the city and the parks to the western part of the city, with the bicycling and everything, and make it very, very useful for far more people to get to use our parks,” he said.
The improvements will also help with the influx of traffic expected to come with the FIFA World Cup and annually with Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park, he added.
“It’s going to be hugely important for all of the businesses in the Midland development area as it goes forward, to have improvements,” he said. “Twelve months from now, we will see very, very visible benefits from it,” he said.
