Senate transportation committee advances bill to name K-10/Wakarusa interchange for Chris Norton

The Kansas Senate Committee on Transportation on the morning advanced House Bill 2263 to designate the future interchange on K-10 at Wakarusa Drive as the Chris Norton Memorial Interchange, adopting an amendment to the bill's publication/effective-date and voting the measure out of committee favorably for passage.

Proponent testimony described Norton as a long-serving Kansas Department of Transportation engineer whose work shaped the South Lawrence Trafficway project. Jordan Herbert, a licensed professional engineer and design consultant project manager at HNTB Corporation, told the committee that Norton —led or contributed to—hundreds of projects and —was instrumental in the design of the K-10 and Wakarusa interchange.' Herbert said Norton—s —professionalism, intimate knowledge of the corridor, passion for advancing the project, [and] interaction with the public were all truly admirable.'

Herbert said the interchange is part of the South Lawrence Trafficway corridor and explained the corridor's purpose: —The SLT improvements relieve congestion and operational issues along 23rd Street, the main east-west route in Lawrence, providing a better quality of life and travel times along local routes.' He told senators Norton —spent hours across kitchen tables, on the phone, responding to emails, doing whatever it took to understand concerns and try to address those concerns to the best of the team's ability.'

Committee members expressed support. Sen. Warren thanked Herbert and said she looked forward to seeing the interchange. Sen. Cleese described the naming as a —lasting project memorial' and urged the committee to move the bill forward. Several other senators offered brief remarks in support.

The committee also voted on an amendment to —publish this in the register' and to change the effective date to the date of publication in the register; that amendment was seconded by Sen. Clays and was adopted by voice vote. A subsequent motion to pass HB 2263 as amended favorably for passage was offered and seconded; the committee approved the bill by voice vote and designated a senator to carry the bill to the Senate floor.

Testimony included several implementation details cited to KDOT practice: the bill sponsor noted that, —as is customary, highway signs would not be placed until the secretary of transportation received the cost of the signs plus 50%.' Herbert also provided program and community context relevant to Lawrence, saying the interchange's construction is already underway as part of the SLT project and that the interchange is one of five interchanges along an approximately eight-mile SLT corridor; the interchange itself is a single point within that corridor.

Family members attended the hearing, and Herbert referenced Norton's local ties and volunteer work, including Meals on Wheels and support for KU's innovation campus.

Votes at a glance: the committee adopted an amendment (to set publication/effective date) and then voted HB 2263 favorably out of committee by voice vote; no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

The bill will move to the Senate floor for further consideration.