Motorists should plan ahead if their commute has them coming in or out of Manhattan along Hwy 24.
Pottawatomie County began work on several projects Monday, resulting in a long commutes home for many going east out of Manhattan.
Among them is the Green Valley Road/Hwy 24 intersection project, which will see a longer, two lane left turn onto Green Valley Road from the highway, an improved intersection at Powers Lane and a frontage road north of Farmers State Bank. That entire project is expected to wrap up Aug. 1.
Construction crews are also beginning work on Dempsey Road between Wheatland Circle and Hwy 24 over the next four weeks before starting work on the frontage road.
The Crown C Circle/Hwy 24 intersection project will extend the South Port Road frontage road to Crown C and construct a right turn lane for eastbound Hwy 24 traffic, new and realigned median crossovers and a realigned entrance on the north side of the highway. That project is expected to be completed in July.
Motorists can expect one lane traffic also from South Port Drive to Scottie Lane and reduced speed limits to 45 mph over the next four weeks to accommodate work in the median. The concept is called a zipper merge, which occurs when drivers use both lanes of traffic up until reaching the defined merge area, where they then alternate turns in “zipper” fashion into the open lane.
All of the timelines are subject to change dependent on weather.
