Wichita bridge closing for a year for construction. Here’s the detour
Some Wichita drivers heading to Derby will have to use a detour for the next year while a bridge is reconstructed.
The southbound bridge over the Wichita drainage canal where Southeast Boulevard becomes K-15 will close Monday, Oct. 27 through December 2026 while it is replaced in a $4 million project, the Kansas Department of Transportation said Monday.
Exit 3A, the southbound I-135 ramp that leads to K-15, will also be closed for that time period, leaving Wichita drivers with a detour to get on the highway.
Instead of the usual route, drivers will be directed to drive south on I-135 to the South Hydraulic exit, take Hydraulic south to MacArthur and then east in order to get back on K-15.
KDOT will install temporary crossovers on Southeast Boulevard, reducing traffic to one lane each direction, to help manage traffic in the work zone during the closure, J.B. Wilson, a public information officer with KDOT, told The Eagle.
“This measure is intended to maintain traffic flow while construction is underway,” Wilson said.
The construction will occur Monday through Friday each week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This isn’t the only time you’ll hear about construction taking place on K-15. The highway is the subject of a study that focuses on a corridor stretching 5.68 miles — from 95th Street South in Derby to I-135 in Wichita, with specific focuses on the intersections of K-15 and 47th Street, K-15 and 55th Street and East MacArthur Road and East 63rd Street.
The Kansas Department of Transportation held an open house last September for residents to comment on ways the corridor, which is a big connector of Wichita and Derby, could be improved.
This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 11:04 AM.
