RICE COUNTY – Starting Monday, July 18, K-14 traffic north of Sterling will be diverted to a temporary road right along the existing highway.
Also, access to the temporary road to and from the east side of Avenue T will be closed. The west side of Avenue T will remain open where it meets the temporary road.
The temporary road, with one lane each north and south, will be about a mile and a half long, from around the Sterling north city limits north to just past Avenue T. Motorists there will be directed to drive at a reduced speed.
The temporary changes will allow continued construction of the new K-14 realignment near Sterling. The temporary road and east Avenue T closure will remain until around the end of the realignment project, which is expected to be completed by June 16, 2023.
Background: The Kansas Department of Transportation realignment project started in the spring of 2021. This is a 15-mile, $81.7 million realignment of K-14. The work stretches from Hutchinson to Nickerson, to Sterling. Bob Bergkamp Construction Co. Inc., of Wichita, is the primary contractor.
During the work, traffic will continue to use the existing K-14/96 alignment in Reno and Rice counties.
The Reno County portion of the realignment will be from about 4.5 miles southeast of Nickerson northwest to the Reno/Rice county line. The length is a little over 7 miles.
The Rice County portion of the realignment will be from the Reno/Rice county line to just north of the K-96/Avenue T junction. The length is about 8 miles.
