By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved cost sharing for 13th Street improvements at its meeting on Monday.
The improvements are to accommodate an increase in traffic at the new Hays Middle School and Hays High School site.
The district is constructing a new high school and renovating the current high school into a middle school.
The project is a reconstruction of 13th between Canterbury Drive and Commerce Parkway.
The street will be widened from Anthony Drive to Tallgrass Drive, with the easternmost end of 13th remaining two lanes to Commerce Parkway.
The project's initial scope included widening 13th from Anthony Drive to Commerce Parkway. However, the project came in over budget.
A multi-use path will be constructed along the north side of the entire project, which will also include pedestrian crossings and right-turn lanes.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said the improvements will help with traffic flow and increase safety.
The downsized project will cost $3.03 million.
USD 489 is responsible for adding two right-turn lanes, pedestrian crossings and upgraded signals at 13th and Canterbury, which will cost $763,000.
The new high school is scheduled to open by August 2025. Work on the renovations at the current high school will start in summer 2025 and take six to eight months to complete.