Ninth Street Closure Expands as Jayhawk Watershed Project Continues
Ninth Street in Lawrence, Kansas is currently closed to through traffic between Louisiana and Indiana Streets and the City of Lawrence plans to extend the closure west toward Mississippi Street, beginning Monday, February 16.
All eastbound and westbound Ninth Street traffic will be blocked between Louisiana and Mississippi Streets starting February 16, though Mississippi Street will remain open to northbound and southbound traffic. The work is part of the ongoing Jayhawk Watershed Project, an initiative aimed at improving drainage and reducing flooding in Old West Lawrence and the surrounding area.
According to a city news release, contractors have successfully installed new storm sewer tunnel infrastructure from Ninth and Indiana Streets to Eighth and Tennessee Streets. Crews will now continue installing inlets and branch lines that connect to the new storm tunnel, allowing the old storm sewer to be abandoned.
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The city is asking motorists to follow marked detours, and signage. By mid-March, contractors are expected to begin work on the alley between Indian and Louisiana Streets, on the north side of Ninth Street. During this phase, pedestrians traveling west along Ninth Street will need to use the sidewalk on the south side of the street and cross north at Mississippi Street to access businesses on the north side. This routing is expected to remain in place until April.
In April, the north sidewalk will reopen to pedestrian traffic, while the south sidewalk will be closed for work. City commissioners approved a plan in December 2025 to keep portions of Ninth Street closed through the summer of 2026, foregoing an opening for the World Cup event, following a survey of Ninth Street business owners and employees. The decision was also influenced by the estimated $400,000 cost of temporarily opening and re-closing the street.
Businesses along Ninth Street remain open, though some have expressed concerns about customer access and potential impacts to profits. Temporary slanted parking spaces were added to the middle of Ninth Street in January to help customers access businesses, and parking in those spaces is free.
Updates on the project and closures can be found on the city’s website: https://lawrenceks.gov/mso/jayhawk-watershed/
The Jayhawk Watershed project addresses aging and undersized stormwater systems that have caused localized flooding. The existing system currently provides less than a two-year level of service, meaning there is a 50% chance of flooding during any storm event.
