The designs for three major road projects in Wichita will start soon, along with improvements to the city's underground water storage tanks.
The designs will cost $1.75 million for the projects on 13th Street North from Gatewood to Webb Road, Pawnee from Greenwich to 127th Street East and the Mosley Bridge at Chisholm Creek. The projects will come back to the council for approval before construction begins.
Improvements are coming for underground water storage tanks near the current water treatment plant. The tanks hold nearly 35 million gallons of treated water in reserve to help meet high demand peaks. Gary Janzen with Public works says the current configuration creates challenges in mixing the water, which could lead to boil water advisories if not addressed.
Work should be completed in the first quarter of 2027 at a cost of $16.6 million.
As expected, the city of Wichita has renewed their contract with Visit Wichita, to promote tourism, sports and convention activities in town.
Visitors spent approximately $1.5 billion in the Wichita area in 2024, which contributed over $210 million in state and local taxes. Tourism also supported 17,000 jobs.
Much of that success has been driven by sporting activities, including The Basketball Tournament at Koch Arena in July, soccer events at Stryker, along with U.S. national figure skating and the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament at Intrust Bank Area. As a result, Wichita has been nominated for the best sports event host city. The winner will be announced Wednesday.
The contract with Visit Wichita is worth nearly $3.12 million.