DE SOTO, Kan. — The big investment in De Soto, Kansas is sparking big changes for one of the Johnson County community’s main roads.
The $4 billion EV Battery Plant and other development in and around the Astra Enterprise Park that will follow is already creating more traffic north of the park. It sparked a study of the 83rd Street and Lexington Corridor, which City Administrator Mike Brungardt says is the alternate route to Astra Enterprise Park, after K-10.
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“The planning level study did give us an idea about overall traffic volumes and the overall width of the corridors that are going to have to be constructed to accommodate those volumes out to the year 2050,” Brungardt said.
The estimate is that traffic flow will eventually double, but residents like Elissa Stewart are already seeing some increase.
“It’s, right now, chaotic,” Stewart said.
She lives near the intersection where 83rd Street becomes Lexington, which is slated to become one of two new roundabouts when the recommendations from the study are implemented.
One other intersection will get a new traffic light. A fourth will become three lanes with a dedicated turning lane in what is now rural highway.
Brungardt admits public opinion is mixed on roundabouts but they generally require less maintenence once they’re built, improve traffic flow, and are safer than other forms of intersections.
“[Roundabouts] take severe accidents and turns them into not-severe accidents just because of the angle of collisions,” Brungardt said.
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The final draft of the plans go to De Soto City Council in July. Brungardt says if they’re approved, these will allow the city to pursue federal, state, and county funding to try to pay for the project.
More detailed engineering plans will also need to be drawn up over the next year to complete the project.
Panasonic says the EV battery plant is on pace to produce electric vehicle batteries in early 2025.
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