Kansas Department of Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed joined Sen. Jerry Moran and local leaders for the I-70/K-18 interchange improvement project groundbreaking ceremony today at the adjacent Geary County Fire Station #4. The event highlighted the importance of the interchange to motorists and the entire region.

“We appreciate the residents and community partners who joined us at the open house in August and shared their ideas,” said KDOT Secretary Reed. “Your feedback helped shape this project, and now you can already see that planning is turning into progress.”

The project focuses on enhancing capacity and traffic flow on both I-70 and K-18 to help improve safety for motorists. Updates to the interchange include:

• Constructing a 2-mile auxiliary lane from eastbound I-70 to a new flyover ramp that will span over I-70 and the existing K-18 bridge.
• Modifying the ramp from K-18 to westbound I-70.
• Reconfiguring the Boller Road intersection north of I-70.

Current traffic can cause congestion during weekday peak hours as well as on days with Kansas State University home football games. Accommodating increased traffic in the future is a priority as traffic is predicted to increase 35 to 40% in this area in the next 20 years.

The new flyover and extended ramps will help drivers maintain consistent speeds as they enter or exit K-18. Project upgrades will also accommodate freight, improve driving conditions and more.

During the first phase, the project will concentrate on dirt work and will have minimal to no impact on traffic using I-70, K-18 or the existing interchange. However, Boller Road, an access road just north of the interchange, is now closed to traffic at the K-18 intersection to for realignment. This part of the project is expected to be completed in March 2026.

King Construction, of Hesston, is the contractor on the $27.5 million project, which is to be completed in fall 2027, conditions permitting.