ShawneeDispatch.com

The crowd at Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Kansas Highway 7 and Johnson Drive/55th Street Interchange reflected one of the key components of seeing the $21.4 million project to fruition.

There were elected officials from Shawnee, Bonner Springs, Johnson County, the state of Kansas and the U.S. Congress. Then there were Shawnee school children, residents and business owners — some who worked on the project and some who endured more than a year of detours outside their stores.

“We all understand this is a partnership,” U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts said during remarks at the event.

Roberts said the interchange is a critical investment for Shawnee and that such projects also are vital to the state’s economy. Unfortunately, he said, construction is expensive, making partnerships critical.

A combination of local, state and federal dollars funded the project, which transformed the signaled intersection into a so-called “diamond” interchange — Johnson Drive now runs beneath K-7, and ramps with merging lanes carry traffic on and off the highway. Roundabouts enable vehicles to turn from Johnson Drive into any of the adjacent shopping centers.

Construction began in March 2010, though planning had been in the works for years prior.

Mayor Jeff Meyers said the new interchange means the area is ready for economic growth, and ready to accommodate traffic associated with that growth.

The mayor thanked everyone involved in the process, especially area residents and businesses.

“They have worked extremely well…on making the best of a difficult situation during challenging economic times,” Meyers said.

In addition to economic development, improving safety was a driving force behind the project, Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller said.

Miller said the improvements eliminate what was becoming an increasingly difficult intersection, which often left cars backed up at a stoplight with other cars zooming up behind them at 60 miles per hour.

“It is not a very comfortable feeling,” she said.

Joining Roberts, Meyers and Miller on stage at Friday’s event, which took place outside Security Bank of Kansas City, 5450 Roberts St., were Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder and Kansas Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan.

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