Lenexa and the Kansas Department of Transportation are working together on enhancing the interchange at I-435 and 87th Street Parkway.

Improvements in the $6.68 million project, which spans from Renner Boulevard to Maurer Road, include additional turn and through lanes, raised median extension, trail relocation and signal replacement.

The goal of the project is to reduce traffic delay and congestion, including additional through capacity and improved left-turn access to I-435 on-ramps.

Lenexa was awarded $3.2 million in federal Surface Transportation Program dollars to help pay for the $6.68 million project. The rest of the project will be city-funded as part of the 2019-2023 capital improvement program.

The council Tuesday unanimously approved moving forward with the project. There was no discussion or public comment, as the item was on the consent agenda.

As part of the city’s Gateway project, the I-435/87th project was one of a few for which Lenexa had requested funding. The city also hopes to enhance the interchange at Kansas Highway 10 and Lone Elm and continue onto other parts of the Gateway project at Interstates 435 and 35.

Other KDOT projects are on the horizon, including expansion of Interstate 35 at 75th Street — one of the most congested stretches of highway in Kansas. That project will expand the highway to four lanes in both directions in 2020.

Other cities have requested assistance from KDOT on other projects, but transportation funding is tight due to years of budget shortfalls and borrowing.

In its request application for funding from the federal Surface Transportation Program, Lenexa emphasized the I-435/87th Street project’s importance because of the growth of traffic volumes near the interchange.

The interchange improvements listed in the project were originally identified in the 87th Street Parkway Corridor Study completed in 2002, according to a city memo.