Residents concerned over traffic Integra will bring

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — When you talk to some of the folks in the neighborhood right across from where the proposed Integra Technologies semiconductor plant will be built, they’re not as concerned about the fact a 1.2 million square foot mega-plant will be their new neighbor.

One long-term resident says overall, this is a welcome change for the local economy. However, when it comes to traffic, he says he’s concerned with how construction will impact an area that’s already prone to severe traffic jams. 

“I can hardly imagine what it will be like with all the construction equipment,” Kechi resident Ron Eyres said.

Eyres has lived in Kechi since 2004 and says Rock Road is his neighborhood’s only way in and out. With Woodlawn on Kansas Highway 254 closed, folks who would normally use that entrance/exit are now inadvertently causing traffic down both 37th and 45th Street.

“When the magnet school here opens and closes, just the school buses pretty well ties up Rock Road,” Eyres said. “There will be a string of traffic, or at least from Millstream Road all the way to Rock Road, trying to make a left turn onto Highway 254.”

Eyres says with the proposed Integra Technologies plant being built across the street, changes will need to be made to accommodate construction equipment. 

“I’m assuming they’ll have to make Rock Road, at least in this area, a four-lane road,” Eyres said.

Bel Aire Mayor Jim Benage says the city has been working with KDOT to plan improvements along the K-254 Corridor. According to KDOT, those plans should be mapped out within the year. 

“They’ve started a management study based upon incentives that was presented to them by the K-254 Development Association, which includes every city along the corridor,” Mayor Benage said. “As soon as that’s done, I think this development will spur that along faster than they originally planned.”

Mayor Benage says the study will not only make access to K-254 safer but will also help accommodate an additional estimated 1,800-1,900 plant employees who are expected to commute to Bel Aire daily. 

“This is just a great win for south-central Kansas,” Mayor Benage said. “I think everybody’s going to do well with this, we just need to bring it across the finish line.”

Bel Aire officials say Integra Technologies has informed them if the federal government approves CHIP Act funding for the company, construction could begin on the proposed plant this October.