WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – As the massive East Kellogg construction project gets closer to breaking ground, some local business owners are feeling uneasy and out of the loop.
The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to expand Kellogg from K-96 to 159th Street, a $425 million effort aimed at improving traffic, safety, and overall travel in the area. However, the people who work and run businesses near the project are already causing disruptions.
The QuickTrip near 143rd and Kellogg has already shut its doors. While KDOT hasn’t started major construction yet, signs of change are showing, and the uncertainty is starting to wear on those who are still open.
“They generated a lot of traffic, and definitely, we have noticed traffic. Now, with our tenants in here, we will do okay for a while. There will be a point where the traffic that we have around here we need that. It’s definitely affected this corner,” said Nicholas Howell, the owner of MoreStor Storage.
Others, like Nolan Avery at King Pete Tattoo, say they’ve gotten no updates at all.
“It’s hard to know what to feel because we have not been told anything about what the plans are or updated in any way. So, it’s really kind of like a big mystery at this point,” Avery said.
KDOT says the project will add new frontage roads, upgrade interchanges, and expand Kellogg to six lanes. Yet, some business owners say the lack of outreach has made it hard to trust the process.
“It would be nice if they can reach out to the local business owners kind of around this stretch of the highway, just to let us know where they are at with the project, if it’s going forward, what that might look like, and yeah, some information would be great,” said Avery.
The expansion is a part of the state’s 10-year, $10 billion IKE Program. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026. For now, business owners along the route are doing their best to hang on and hoping someone from KDOT answers their questions.
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