The Wichita City Council approved construction plans that will improve West Street from Harry to Pawnee, along with consolidating its intersections at Pawnee and Southwest Boulevard.
City planners say projected future growth in the area, along with the complex, dual-intersection currently in place made this project necessary.
The plan will create one large intersection at West and Pawnee by reconstructing Southwest Boulevard to connect with Pawnee to the east of West Street.
The city approved $265 thousand earlier this year for design and right of way work and added another $500 thousand for 2021. The project has been awarded $8 million in federal funding. There's no exact time table for when the project will start.
Current construction on West Street between Kellogg and Harry is half-way finished and is slated to be completed in the Spring.
In other planning news, the council approved a $19 million budget for a new multi-modal transportation facility in to be located in the Delano district.
The center would be located just northwest of Riverfront Stadium, bounded by Sycamore, Oak and Burton Streets and Texas Avenue. It would provide 500 parking spaces, along with charging stations for the city's electric buses.
Demolition will begin immediately on that lot to prepare for construction. The city says it will take a year to design the facility, followed by the bidding process then construction.
