The City of Manhattan reached the final phase of its North Campus Corridor project, beginning to replace and reconstruct the intersection of Denison and Kimball Avenue. 

According to the City of Manhattan, “The official detour for Kimball will be south on College Avenue, then east on Claflin Avenue, then north on Denison.”

Brian Johnson, city engineer and assistant director of Public Works, said the closure of Denison and Kimball is the last step of the 13-phase project.

“It was started in 2014 as part of the 2025 K-State master plan,” Johnson said. 

According to the North Campus Corridor Overview, “​​Kimball Avenue alone carries over 20,000 vehicles daily. Improvements throughout the NCC include increased lane widths and dedicated turn lanes, improved storm sewer infrastructure, protected medians, traffic signal and crosswalk innovations, pedestrian walkways throughout the corridor, bicycle improvements, bus stops, streetscape and landscape enhancements.”

Johnson said the project will increase safety for drivers.

“Kimball Avenue was one of our highest crash corridors in the city,” Johnson said. “By adding some access controls, some islands and some other features, we believe we’re going to be able to reduce accidents significantly along that corridor.”

The City of Manhattan is coordinating with the Manhattan Fire Department located on Denison to make sure they have “appropriate access to get to where they need to go,” Johnson said.

Sam Dameron, assistant chief of operations at the fire department, said it works closely with Public Works to make sure they have road access when responding to calls.

“Obviously we can’t go west on Kimball, so they’re going to go down to Claflin or up to Marlatt to get around the road construction, which slows us down and makes our responses a little bit longer out at the station,” Dameron said. “If we’re delayed, let’s say, going to the west of town, then we just modify the apparatus of that area and have one of the other stations go. Depending on which parts of the road they have closed determines which way we go. If they can, they always give us emergency access to go through if we need to.”

Abigail Weyand, senior in human development and family science at Kansas State, said she had a couple “close calls” nearly missing class because of the closure.

“I live on Kimball and College right across from the football stadium, so the closure definitely affects me,” Weyand said. “I usually go through Kimball over to Manhattan Avenue to get to class, but now I have to go down College and cut through Claflin.”

Denison is scheduled to reopen north from Kimball “within the next couple weeks,” according to the City of Manhattan. “But the entire intersection will be closed in mid-May; so don’t get too attached to driving north or south through there.”

The Denison intersection will close for summer after K-State graduation. The city estimates it will take seven months to complete.