DOUGLAS COUNTY —The mystery over who painted miles of city street in Lawrence is now solved.
On Thursday, the City of Lawrence shared additional information about pavement marking work that occurred Wednesday morning in parts of Lawrence.
Around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, a Kansas Department of Transportation crew mistakenly repainted lines in areas where no pavement marking work was scheduled or requested by the City of Lawrence.
The work was started in North Lawrence, in the southbound lanes from the City limits to the Kansas River Bridge, and westbound 6th Street from Vermont Street to Congressional Drive.
The City did not request this work, schedule this work, or pay for this work.
Based on the City’s review so far, it appears the crew misread its map and went to the wrong location in Lawrence instead of the intended work area outside City limits.
The pavement markings do not meet the quality standards expected for Lawrence streets. However, the affected areas are safe to drive through.
“The City and KDOT have an excellent working relationship, and we’ll continue to coordinate and work together to resolve this marking situation,” said Melissa Sieben, Director of Municipal Services & Operations.
The City’s Municipal Services & Operations department is working closely with the Kansas Department of Transportation to identify what went wrong and determine the appropriate correction. The City will not be responsible for the cost of correcting the mistakes.
The City understands this situation has caused confusion and prompted questions, especially for drivers who encountered the lesser quality markings on recently painted streets. City staff will continue coordinating with the Kansas Department of Transportation and will share additional information when corrective work is confirmed.