North Lawrence's New Flood Warning System

0:00It's April 14th. This is Kansas News today, AI-powered stories from your city. I'm Cory with the story. North Lawrence is gearing up with a new flood warning system for that tricky underpass on North Second Street. City crews are installing sensors, lighted signs, and flashing signals to stop drivers from plunging into water during heavy downpours. Earlier this week, work kicked off on the setup, explained Shane Golden from the Municipal Services team. It runs in two phases. First, when catch basin start backing up, signs flash, watch for water on road to give folks a heads up. That underpass floods bad in storms, sometimes forcing full closures and rerouting traffic through quiet residential spots east of there. Drivers ignore the risk at their peril, but this should cut down on close calls. Now, once water hits four to six inches deep, signals that locust and lion streets will start blinking like crazy to block entry and keep everyone safe. With installation moving fast, Golden expects the whole system live in about three weeks, making those rainy drives a lot less dicey around town.