Although it’s a significant project in its own right, the I-235 Green Project in Wichita, Kansas, is the first phase of a much larger rebuilding of an interchange known locally as the North Junction.

The North Junction is a four-direction gateway to and from Wichita and many smaller communities that make up the metropolitan area. Increasing its efficiency and reliability plus its capacity and safety improvements will benefit all drivers who pass through the interchange.

From an economic perspective, it will help businesses that are shipping products, delivery services that are trying to meet tight schedules, commuters trying to get to their jobs, and the travelers that come to Wichita.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is preparing this area around the North Junction for two reasons: money and need. KDOT fell behind during the recession more than a decade ago. “We’re trying to catch up based on priorities from 2008,” says Tom Hein, Wichita Metro Public Affairs Manager.

The Green Project includes multiple elements. KDOT will replace aging pavement, add auxiliary lanes on 3.5 miles of I-235, and rebuild an interchange.

Regarding the new interchange, the ramps will be wider making it easier for large trucks to navigate and have appropriate length acceleration lanes for traffic to get up to speed before they have to merge into the through lanes. “The old ramps had very tight radii of curvature that were difficult for trucks to navigate and the acceleration lane length was inadequate,” says Don Snyder, KDOT Wichita Metro Engineer.

However, the most significant element of the project is the removal of seven bridges and the construction of four new bridges in their stead. The bridges that are being removed were either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

“The existing bridges over the Little Arkansas River had to undergo an expensive repair process several years ago to enable them to continue to be used for a few more years,” says Snyder. “It was disheartening to spend these funds when we knew the bridges would be replaced in a few years, but it was necessary work to keep them operable until the new bridges were constructed.” 

Two bridges for each direction of I-235 will be re-constructed as a single, longer bridge. This will reduce the four bridges down to two. One small bridge, which served an area on the other side of the interstate with less than 20 houses and a couple of businesses, is being removed. “It was not feasible to replace it,” said Hein. KDOT is replacing the bridge with a local road. As of the publication, one of the bridges has been completed and one other is nearing completion.

Hein notes the new bridges will be significantly larger and wider. The new bridges will have three lanes in each direction where previously there were two. In addition, there will be a full-sized shoulder in both directions. The current average daily traffic is in the 50,000 range and it is expected to increase to almost 70,000 in 20 years.

The new bridges will benefit commuters in multiple ways. The bridges will eliminate issues with the routing of oversized trucks. The wearing surfaces on some of the old bridges were in poor condition and required frequent patching eating up KDOT time. The new bridges will allow KDOT to focus on other needs.

“The new bridges as well as the new pavement will add significant capacity for the increasing traffic flow on one of the busier highway locations in town,” says Snyder.

The entire budget for the project is $70 million. The federal government is supplying the primary funding (90 percent), with the state picking up the rest. The City of Wichita is putting up money for some non-construction related expenses. Hein says the project is on budget so far and is confident it will remain so.

The I-235 Green Project, which began in March 2019, is on schedule to be complete in November 2021. This is despite wet springs in both 2019 and 2020 in the area.

In 2019, the wet weather slowed bridge construction and dirt work. However, when the weather improved, the team added Saturday work. In addition, a mild 2019-2020 winter helped construction move forward when normally little work could take place.

When working on construction project such as this one, KDOT places a major focus on maintaining as safe an environment as possible for construction workers and drivers.

While they also want to minimize inconvenience for travelers, it “has to be balanced with the contractors needs to keep a constant workflow,” says Hein.

Therefore, two lanes in each direction have been available throughout construction except for the occasional weekend closures. Maintaining four lanes of traffic will be easier when work takes place on the northbound side of I-235.

This is because KDOT will shift all the traffic via a shoofly detour to the southbound side, which will be able to handle that amount of traffic because of its three lanes and wide shoulder. Hein notes this will allow construction to proceed “smoothly and quickly.”

Upon completion of the I-235 Green Project, the roadway will have a more modern design enabling increased traffic flow efficiency, improved reliability, and safety enhancements. It will also increase capacity, which will reduce the daily backups that occur during rush hour drive times. It sets up the highways west of the North Junction to operate much more efficiently and make the area ready to handle the growth in traffic.