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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Friday, October 10, 2008 11:42 AM

Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald

Terry Laird lives in Richmond but drives to Lawrence every day for work. The new highway likely will make his commute faster.

Richmond commuter has long drive, long history with deadly U.S. 59

By VICKIE MOSS, Herald Managing Editor

Terry Laird has a long-term relationship with U.S. 59.

He’s seen death on the highway and has had a few close calls himself.

He’s watched as businesses, houses and lives were uprooted in the name of progress.

He’s witnessed the birth of a new, four-lane superhighway and tracked the early stages of its development.

And he can’t wait for its grand debut.

Dangerous drive

Laird is one of about 10,000 drivers who traverse U.S. 59 between Ottawa and Lawrence each day.

He has been driving the highway each work day for the past 15 years as he commutes from his home at Richmond to his job with a civil engineering firm, Landplan Engineering, in Lawrence.

A flexible schedule allows him to hit the highway early in the morning when there are fewer cars on the road. The stretch of highway between Ottawa and Lawrence has a reputation for being one of the most deadly in Kansas, and Laird understands why.

The highway features a series of sharp hills and curves. There are few passing zones and a speed limit of 55 mph, but that doesn’t stop some motorists from speeding or trying to pass in unsafe places.

“I’ve had a lot of close calls. I’ve been ran clear off the highway twice,” Laird said. “But I’ve never had an accident. Knock on wood.”

Laird drove past an early morning fatality wreck several years ago that left him shaken. He had to pull off the highway for a few minutes to regain his composure. The wreck changed the way he thought about seat belt use.

“I was one of those guys, I wore my seat belt when I remembered,” he said. “After that morning, I wear it all the time.”

New route

A lengthy daily commute translates to a front-row seat to road construction as the Kansas Department of Transportation builds a new, four-lane superhighway east of the present route.

Laird watched as houses were raised from their foundation, ready for a move to a location out of the highway’s new path. He noted with surprise one morning when demolition work began on the former Jackson Welding building. The building, a landmark in his commute, was gone the next day.

He speculated just where the road would run. He wondered if bridges would lift county roads over the highway or if the highway would be elevated above existing roads.

In recent months, he’s gotten answers. Glimpses of the new highway flash past his car window each day.

He heard rumors of problems funding state transportation projects and wondered what would happen to U.S. 59. Would the highway be left half-complete?

Congress has approved an $8 billion transfer of money into the federal fund from which states are reimbursed for highway projects, essentially assuring the project would be finished, KDOT reported in September.

“That would have been really bad. To do all that work and just have half of it,” Laird said. “I can’t wait for it to be done.”