Several Kansas Turnpike Accident Hotspots Located Near Lawrence

Six of the nine most accident-prone spots along the Kansas Turnpike are in the Lawrence area, according to a study compiled for the Kansas Turnpike Authority.

Two of the other accident hotspots along the 236-mile turnpike were in the I-70 stretch approaching Kansas City, according to the 2010 Long-Term Needs Study.

The K-7 interchange at the Bonner Springs exit approaching Kansas City had the most accidents, with 43, according to the report. Mile Marker 192 approaching Lawrence had 24 accidents, and Mile Marker 194, also approaching Lawrence, recorded 23 accidents during the period studied.

The turnpike’s south Wichita interchange is another accident hotspot in the turnpike system, coming in at No. 9 with 19 accidents in 2008, The Wichita Eagle reported.

“These high accident areas are located along the more heavily traveled stretches of the Turnpike, particularly along I-70 between Topeka and Kansas City,” the report says.

The report, which contains the most recently available data, showed that most accidents resulted from driver error. The next long-term study is due this fall, five years ahead of schedule.

The study found that in an eight-year span, fatal accidents on average accounted for 0.5 percent of total accidents, and that the ratio of fatal accidents to total accidents is “significantly lower on the Kansas Turnpike as compared to rural 4-lane highways in the state.”

The rates of total accidents and fatal accidents were also lower in 2004-2008 compared with the rates in 2001, the report states.