Innovation Parkway Dedicated by Topeka Chamber

TOPEKA – Topeka Chamber and GO Topeka officials formally dedicated Innovation Parkway at Kanza Fire Commerce Park Wednesday morning (October, 2014).

The street gives access to the MARS plant and future tenants in the Commerce Park located at the south end of the South Topeka Economic Growth Corridor, identified in February 2012 as the best place for future industrial growth and job creation in the Topeka and Shawnee County area according to Allan Towle, chairman of the board of GO Topeka.

"Projects such as Innovation Parkway are key to being prepared to work with both existing and new businesses in our community," Allan Towle, chair of GO Topeka, said. "Many of the companies that make decisions to build new facilities want to have shovel-ready sites ready for construction. That means streets, sewers, water and occasionally rail."

Innovation Parkway is a public thoroughfare that provides additional connectivity between Topeka Boulevard and the access ramps to Highway 75. The street benefits the traveling public as well as the businesses in the park. The railroad crossing in Kanza Fire was also made safer with cross arms and signalization.

Innovation Parkway is 4,300 linear feet of paved boulevard with median islands, and 700 linear feet of deceleration lanes on Gary Ormsby Drive and Topeka Boulevard. The project cost $2.5 million, and was funded by the KDOT T-WORKS (Transportation Works for Kansas) economic development program.

Innovation Parkway was designed and constructed to City of Topeka standards and has now been turned over to the City for maintenance. The project had City of Topeka oversight as a requirement of this funding mechanism, but no City funds were used, and the City staff time is being invoiced to the project and will be paid by the T-WORKS funding.

The project involves 14,500 square yards of asphalt paving, 21,900 square feet of concrete sidewalk, 14,000 linear feet of concrete curb and gutter and 4,000 linear feet of storm sewer according to Angela Sharp, senior project manager for Bartlett & West. Bartlett & West provided the survey, design and construction services for Innovation Parkway.

Hamm Asphalt Inc of Topeka was the general contractor on the project. All but two of the sub-contractors were local.

Article reproduced with permission of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce & Go Topeka.  For more information, visit their website at:  www.topekachamber.org