Bridge of CR 1055 near Lawrence to reopen soon

Archive for Monday, December 14, 2015

December 14, 2015

Baldwin City residents finally will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of this year’s improvements to Douglas County Road 1055 with a bridge just south of Lawrence set to be reopened soon.

Douglas County Public Works director Keith Browning said the bridge over the Wakarusa River about a mile south of Lawrence on CR 1055 could be opened Friday.  “We’re hoping to open it Friday,” he said. “There’s still some work to be done on it, but that’s our goal.”

The bridge was extensively rebuilt through such repairs as the removal and replacement of the south abutment, bottom deck replacement and deck patching, Browning said. Once the bridge is open, Baldwin City motorists will be able to access east and central Lawrence via 1055 without re-routing to U.S. Highway 59 or the newly improved E. 1400 Road around the Baker University Wetlands.

Work on the bridge started just as a series of safety improvements to CR 1055 between Baldwin City and Vinland were wrapping up. Those safety upgrades included the replacement of narrow culverts, asphalt remilling of that section, removal of trees to improve sight lines at the bottom of Baldwin hill, construction of a bridge near North 500 Road and the addition of paved shoulders near the bridge and at the intersection of CR 600 Road. The work closed a large portion of that section of the road for much of the spring and summer.