OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Anyone who has to travel on Interstate 35 between Olathe and downtown Kansas City, Missouri, will tell you about the bottleneck at the 75th Street bridge.
The area along I-35 is currently three lanes but has four and five lanes feeding into it north- and southbound, creating traffic backups.
"It's a lot of traffic, it's cluttered, people don't like to let you get over," said Victoria Jimenez, a veterinary technician at the nearby Johnson County Animal Clinic. "It's just not good."
In mid-March, the Kansas Department of Transportation will add an additional lane to I-35 at the 75th Street bridge in hopes of relieving the issue.
Kelly Kultala, the public affairs manager for District 1 at KDOT, said the first part of the project will be a four-month phase. Two of the northbound lanes from 75th Street onto I-35 northbound will be closed "for a short period of time," Kultala said.
Throughout this project, there will be several additional lane closures.
I-35 will not be closed, but KDOT recommends getting off at Shawnee Mission Parkway to Antioch Road, between 67th and 87th streets.
The project is expected to be completed by November.
