City of Topeka's 12th Street project won't be completed this year

Aug 15, 2023

Topeka's city government had planned this year to finish an improvement project and reopen all of S.W. 12th Street to traffic, but that isn't going to happen.

"Due to delays caused by resolving underground utility conflicts and delays in receiving water main components from manufacturers, 12th Street between S.W. Oakley and S.W. Gage will not be open to through traffic in 2022," the city said Monday on its website.

Local access will continue to be maintained for local residents, the site said.

Bettis Asphalt, the city's construction contractor for the 12th Street improvement project, has asked that the time period it has to carry it out be extended by about 212 days, said Braxton Copley, the city's public works director.

"This is due to delays caused by franchised utilities or time spent to resolve utility conflicts," Copley told The Capital-Journal. "There were also delays with the 30-inch water line valves that took more than a year to be delivered."

The city will have a public meeting to update residents in the first week of December, it said on its website.

"You will be notified by mail and a notice on your door regarding a meeting," that site said.

Details regarding directions of travel and driving surfaces available over the coming winter won't be known until the end of November, the city website said.

"We recognize that construction in this stretch of 12th has been particularly disruptive," it said. "As you have seen, there are many very large underground storage structures that have needed to be worked around for water and sanitary sewer work to be completed. We appreciate your patience and understanding."

More:Group opposes reducing stretch of S.W. 12th to one lane

The city early last year began the project to rebuild S.W. 12th Street between Topeka and Gage boulevards — which formerly offered two lanes of westbound through traffic — in a manner that provides one lane for through traffic and one lane for purposes that include parking, bus loading, deliveries and trash pick-up.

Bettis Asphalt last year carried out the project's first phase, which involved making improvements to S.W. 12th from S. Kansas Avenue going west to S.W. Washburn Avenue.

The company planned this year to carry out the second phase, which involves improving S.W. 12th from Washburn Avenue west to S.W. Gage Boulevard. Final completion was expected by Nov. 23.

Officials with Topeka's city government and Bettis Asphalt met Friday to discuss "the status and realistic completion date for the project," the city said on its website.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.