Highway in Russell County closing for most of the year

RUSSELL COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) – An 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 281 in Russell County is closing until approximately the end of the year.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says work will begin on U.S. 281 on Monday, March 18. Crews will reconstruct the road into a 30-foot paved surface with 3-foot turf shoulders.

The work will extend from Land Road, which is about four miles north of Russell, to the Kansas Highway 18 junction, about 15 miles north of Russell.

KDOT says there will be signs showing a detour using K-18, K-232 and I-70. For a driver in Paradise or Waldo wanting to get to Russell, that adds about 45 minutes to the journey.

If the weather cooperates, the project should be done by the end of the year.

KDOT says the 11-mile stretch is the final part of the delayed T-WORKS project to rehabilitate and reconstruct the U.S. 281 corridor between Russell and K-18. Reconstructing the first four miles north of Russell was completed in late 2021.