MERRIAM, Kan. — Saturday marks the official first day of summer and in Merriam—the unofficial start to construction season! A busy section of Shawnee Mission Parkway will be closed for the entire weekend. The road between I-35 to just east of Antioch Road will be shut down through Monday morning for re-paving and repairs.
It’s a pain not only for drivers, but for businesses in the area.
“Business has been like super slow!” said Carly Brooks with Caribou Coffee on Shawnee Mission Parkway.
She said the orange barrels and barricades that popped up Friday night made getting that morning jolt nearly impossible.
“Saturday morning we usually have about a three to four hour rush,” she said. “We haven’t had a rush, like I think the biggest rush we had about five, six cars in a row.”
The Kansas Department of Transportation said instead of spreading construction out over four weekends while maintaining traffic it decided to speed up work by completely shutting down the stretch of Shawnee Mission Parkway for an entire weekend.
Danny Zaslavsky with Country Hill Motors on East Frontage Road said customers can still get to his dealership to take a car for a spin, but said they’ve had to change their test drive route. He said his dealership may actually benefit from the road work.
“I don’t mind it at all, people are now getting off at 67th and I-35 which showcases our business pretty well so I’m actually quite excited,” said Zaslavsky.
Shawnee Mission Parkway is expected to re-open the morning of Monday, June 23rd at 6 a.m.
