Johnson County and Overland Park, Kan., are growing. That makes the region sound exciting and fast-paced, except “fast-paced” is definitely not the phrase that describes the way traffic moves on I-435.

More than 130,000 vehicles take I-435 between Metcalf and US-69 every day. Just north of I-435, more than 88,000 vehicles travel the US-69 corridor. And traffic demands are still growing; it is projected that by 2027, I-435 between Metcalf and US 69 will carry 200,000 vehicles. That number of vehicles, combined with the heavy traffic flow already on the interstate, is not an optimistic combination for the future.

People who take I-435 daily, however, have reason to be optimistic; construction crews are working so drivers will one day have a chance to drive faster than dial-up Internet access. Focus 435 is a multi-phase construction project that is working to relieve traffic congestion and reconstruct interchanges and bridges. It's a large project with six associate projects that will reconstruct other roads that intersect with I-435; in particular, I-35, Antioch Road and US-69. Focus 435 improvements are designed to handle the greater traffic volume efficiently, and the entire project will cost $127.4 million. It is expected to be complete in June 2009.

The first phase, scheduled for completion in December, consists of widening:
• Antioch Road from Indian Creek Parkway to 110th Street
• I-435 from Indian Creek Parkway to Metcalf Avenue
• The inside shoulder of US-69 and reconstruction of the west half of the Metcalf Interchange Indian Creek Parkway, and 108th St.
I-435 will temporarily be reduced to three lanes and Antioch Road and southbound US-69 will become one-lane roads this year.

Clarkson Construction Companies, the general contractor on two associate projects within Focus 435 - one for I-435 and Antioch Road in Overland Park, the other at I-35 and US-69 with 87th street - is familiar with reconstructing bridges and interchanges. The sixth-generation family owned business was founded in 1880; since the 1900s, when it started doing road and street construction, it has been commissioned to do work including steel and concrete bridges, demolition, concrete paving and reinforced earth retaining walls. In 2002 Engineering News-Record listed Clarkson Construction at 214th in its top-400 contractors for 2001, and Transportation Builder listed Clarkson Construction at 32nd in the Federal Highway Administration's top-300 highway prime contractors. The company also ranked No. 1 in the region of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

“In the early 1900s, the company expanded from land clearing and excavation to become heavily involved in road and street construction,” the company says. “By the end of the 1930s, [we] took part in the building of the Kansas highway system.

“Clarkson's bridge fleet includes 20 crawler and mobile cranes with lifting capacities from 45 tons to 200 tons, deck finishing machines, pile drivers, and all other miscellaneous equipment required to maintain crews capable of constructing bridges on several different projects each construction season.” For Focus435, Clarkson is:
• Reconstructing the Antioch bridge over I-435
• Constructing a new interchange at Antioch Road and I-435
• Reconstructing the interchange with I-35 and US-69 over 87th Street
• Replacing the 87th Street bridge over I-35
• Reconstructing and making bridge improvements along 87th Street from Quivira Road to Goddard Street
• Adding two lanes and bridges along I-435 from Metcalf

Avenue to 0.4 mile west of US-69 Improvements the other associated projects will create in other areas along I-435 include:
• Widening I-435 from six to eight lanes from Metcalf Avenue to US 69, including an auxiliary lane
• Creating an elevated fly-over ramp to replace the existing loop ramp in the southwest quadrant of the I-435/US-69 Interchange
• Creating noise walls along I-435 from US-69 to Antioch Road
• Reconstructing the interchange at US-69 and 103rd Street Focus435 also includes preventive preservation changes for other areas, which do not yet have funding. These include:
• Partial design corridor and interchange improvements along U.S.-69 from south of the119th street interchange to north of the 95th street interchange
• Partial design corridor and interchange improvements along I-435 between I-35 and US-69.

Clarkson Construction says it is confident its two projects within Focus 435 will turn out well. “Clarkson prides itself on providing quality, on-time construction while maintaining a safe work environment,” the company says. “Clarkson performs over 80 percent of its work with its own labor and equipment forces.

“[We have] developed a reputation of being able to complete projects on a fast-track basis, thus allowing the owner to utilize the finished product at the earliest possible time.”