Motorists traveling south of Iola will need to find an alternate route starting next week.
The Kansas Department of Transportation announced in a Monday press release reconstruction of seven miles of U.S. 169 from Minnesota Road (airport turnoff) to Tank Farm Road south of Humboldt.
Crews will tear out the old concrete highway, re-establish the subgrade base, and pour new concrete pavement along the highway and interchange ramps.
The highway will remain closed between Minnesota and Delaware roads until the project is completed sometime in 2019.
The official state route detour will take traffic west on U.S. 54 to U.S. 75, south to K-39 outside Chanute, and back to U.S. 169.
The old highway 169 will remain open.
Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., Columbia, Mo., is the general contractor overseeing the $16 million project.
