City to consider closing portion of New Hampshire Street to accommodate building project

Downtown motorists, your one-way adventure on New Hampshire Street may just be beginning. Motorists may have up to two more years of the construction cones.

Lawrence city commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday are scheduled to approve a partial closing of the 800 block of New Hampshire Street to accommodate the construction of a new multistory apartment and office building at the northeast corner of Ninth and New Hampshire streets.

The project will create lane closures on New Hampshire Street north of Ninth Street and south of the midblock crosswalk in the 800 block of New Hampshire Street. Officials are estimating it will take 18 months to build the new building, but are asking for permission to close the street up to 24 months, in case the project takes longer than anticipated. The citys director of public works is supportive of the request.

You have to have some room to get equipment in and around the building site, said Chuck Soules, the citys director of public works. You dont want people that close to a building site anyway. I think it is going to be in everybodys interest to let the project proceed in this way.

For the duration of the project, the northbound lane on New Hampshire Street is expected to be closed to all traffic. Periodically, the southbound lane also will be closed to traffic. But the Journal-World previously incorrectly reported that both lanes would be closed for much of the project. Soules said the plans call for the southbound lane to remain open except during times when a waterline that is located in the middle of the street is being replaced.

Soules said that portion of the project likely would take weeks, not months, but said a firm timetable for the work wasnt available. An attempt to reach a representative with the developer Lawrence-based First Management wasnt successful.

Downtown leaders also are waiting to see how the project will affect the Lawrence Farmers' Market, which hosts a Tuesday and Saturday market in the city parking lot adjacent to the building site. Plans call for the southernmost row of parking in the city lot to be closed during the construction project. Other parking spaces used by market visitors will be open, Soules said. The midblock crosswalk that leads to the market area also is scheduled to remain open, Soules said.

Amanda Cook, chair of the board of directors for the Lawrence Farmers' Market, said parking and ease of movement around the site is a concern. She said the market previously has worked well with the development group, so she is hopeful the developers will work to accommodate the market as part of the project.

One way or another, our plan is still to be at that location during all of this, Cook said. Well probably have to spend a little more money on advertising and work a little harder to make sure it works for our customers.

If the lane closures are approved by the commission, Soules said it is uncertain when the work may begin. He said crews may begin blocking traffic on the portion of the street within the next couple of weeks, but he has instructed the developer to be certain that the building project really is ready to proceed before the street is blocked.

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City to consider closing portion of New Hampshire Street to accommodate building project