Late arrivals, disrupted morning routines, and mumbled frustrations – LHS students and teachers alike have found themselves affected by worsening traffic on school commutes. The backups are the result of widespread construction, and the arrival of KU students just up the hill from LHS. 

Most notably, a major construction project is underway on Iowa Street, causing a lane shortage from 23rd street to Irving Hill rd. Between that boundary is the intersection of Iowa and 19th Street, which is currently closed. Many students and teachers have relied on this intersection for their commute to LHS. 

Senior Adlee Stewart is among them. She has begun timing her new routes to school for efficiency. 

“[I’m] going past 19th to 20th,” she said. “It’s just adding minutes to my morning.” 

Science teacher Lisa Ball explained the resulting traffic pattern. 

“It’s pretty awful, because the KU traffic is diverging south since the 19th and Iowa intersection is closed,” she said. “One day I got stuck in that KU traffic, and It took me almost 20 minutes to go two and a half miles to get home.”

Student arrivals on the hill are nothing new, but KU enrollment has hit record highs in the last few years. Just last fall, KU set a new overall enrollment record of 30,770 students. Some wish the construction wouldn’t overlap with the fall semester. 

“It  feels like we should have done this before KU starts,” chemistry teacher Clara Dunkin said. Her commute takes nearly 40 minutes because of construction. 

Ball commented on the environmental impact of the worsening traffic. 

“Any time you have cars idling, you’ve got all of those gasses coming from the exhaust,” she explained. “Sitting in traffic with your engine on is going to contribute to our air pollution issue.” 

The city of Lawrence estimated the Iowa Street project will reach completion in the first quarter of 2026. Until then, students and teachers must adapt and remain flexible amid ongoing traffic disruptions.