Drivers along Johnson Drive in Mission, Kansas are navigating a construction zone that will stick around for months, as crews rebuild the corridor between Lamar Avenue and the Metcalf Avenue bridge. The project, which is expected to keep traffic disrupted through spring 2027, includes new pavement and other corridor improvements.
According to a Johnson County, KS Government post, the rebuild will widen sidewalks, add ADA ramps, upgrade drainage pipes, and install native plantings meant to reduce local flooding and runoff pollution. The post notes the project is funded by the City of Mission and Johnson County, with the county's Stormwater Management Program and County Assistance Road System, or CARS, listed as resources for more information. Those two funding partners reflect a broader financing structure detailed by Johnson County Post, which reports the reconstruction carries a total estimated price tag of $12 million to $13.5 million, covered by a $6 million federal grant, $1.82 million from CARS, and roughly $1.95 million or more from the city itself.
Work Already Reshaping the Corridor
Physical construction began on August 17, with initial work closing interior lanes in both directions for median removal, the same outlet's report notes. The Mission City Council formally awarded the construction contract during its May 27 meeting. The project had been on the books for at least two years and received a grant through the Mid-America Regional Council.
The corridor runs near Shawnee Mission North High School. The construction zone sits adjacent to the school's main campus entrance on Johnson Drive near the bridge.
New Signals and Green Infrastructure
Beyond the lane rebuild, the project includes a HAWK pedestrian crossing signal at Riggs Avenue. Updated streetlights round out the safety improvements planned for the corridor, per the city's public works project page.
The native plantings woven into the redesign are intended to absorb stormwater runoff, addressing flooding concerns that have plagued the area. The county's CARS and Stormwater Management Program are listed as resources for more information.
A Corridor Already Crowded With Construction
Johnson Drive commuters are contending with more than one project at once. In March, the Kansas Department of Transportation began a separate $2.5 million repair project on the U.S. 69/Metcalf Avenue bridge spanning directly over Johnson Drive, aiming to extend the aging structure's service life by 10 to 15 years, per KDOT. The city also relocated the weekly Mission Market from Johnson Drive to Broadmoor Park for the 2026 season because of a concurrent $15 million flood-mitigation project along the nearby Rock Creek Channel, the City of Mission says.
Mission has been through a corridor overhaul before. A two-year reconstruction of downtown Johnson Drive between 2013 and 2014 led some local retailers to report revenue losses of 45% to 60% due to restricted access and road closures, according to KCUR. That history looms over the current project as businesses along the corridor, including recent additions like Pizza Tascio's new Mission location, brace for a construction season that stretches into next spring.
