K 96

KDOT crews will start making repairs on K-96 from Greenwich Road to U.S. 54 beginning Wednesday, June 13th. The project will involve single lane and occasional ramp closurs Sunday-Friday nights from 6:30 pm to 7:30 am, plus extended work hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Speed limits in the work zone will be reduced to 50 miles per hour. The work is part of T-Works, an $8-billion, 10-year project approved by the 2010 Kansas legislature.

A driver suffered serious injuries in a crash at West & K-96 Tuesday. Sedgwick County Sheriffs deputies say the woman was driving westbound on K-96 and exiting onto West street, but did not stop at the stop sign on the off ramp. Her car was struck by a northbound grain truck. Firefighters had to extract the woman and a young girl from the car. The 76-year-old driver was taken by EMS to Via Christi on St. Francis for treatment of potentially critical injuries. The 12-year-old girl was not injured.

An accident on K-96 between Hydraulic and Hillside slowed traffic to a near standstill for over an hour Tuesday morning.  Five to six vehicles were involved in the crash, but no serious injuries were reported. Officials on the scene say the crash was caused by vehicles following too closely. Traffic was slow-going for a while, but everything is back to normal now.

The ramp from southbound K-96 to eastbound Kellogg is back open after being closed most of the day. A semi rolled over this morning, closing the ramp. Investigators say the truck was carrying florescent lightbulbs. While the bulbs stayed inside the cargo area, they broke and spilled a potentially hazardous chemical inside.  Hazmat crews were on the scene to help with the clean up.

One person has died in a head-on collision on K-96 just east of Nickerson. The accident happened just after three o'clock Thursday afternoon at K-96 and Roy L. Smith road. Investigators say an SUV and a semi hauling grain collided. The driver of the SUV, 22-year-old Michael Benert of Arkansas, died in the crash. The driver of the semi, a man from Nebraska, has non-life theatening injuries. Authorities closed K-96 at Riverton Road and Roy L. Smith for several hours.

A 6-year-old boy died Sunday morning in a Wichita hospital after a rollover crash on Saturday. Three others were taken to the hospital after their SUV rolled over near K-96 and Hillside. 6-year-old Cryisol Hall died after he and two others were ejected from the SUV. Officials say the vehicle took the exit too late, and rolled off the highway. Authorities are still investigating whether anyone was wearing seatbelts.

Around 2:30 this afternoon a red Taurus was hit by a semi tractor-trailer. That happened at the crossing of K-96 and 85th street. And eyewitness says a woman in a red Taurus was distracted by something and nearly stopped after the crossover, the semi tried to stop but hit the woman in her car.  The driver of the Taurus was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.   

A woman is dead after her vehicle struck median and telephone pole overnight.  It happened in front of Home Depot near K-96 and Woodlawn around 1:45 Thursday morning. Police say a driver following the vehicle called 911 before the accident because there was concern the driver was possibly under the influence. No other vehicles were involved and no one else was hurt. Wichita police identified the victim as 30-year-old Rachel Lynn Baker. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Installation of cable barriers on a Kansas highway beginning Monday. K-Dot crews will install the cables on a four mile stretch of K-96, from I-135 to Rock Road. The barriers help prevent drivers from crossing the median. According to a K-DOT study, between 2002 and 2006, there were 126 accidents where drivers crossed medians. "Actually, it's on K-96 where I've seen the worst car accidents," said Andrew Potter who recently finished training to become a paramedic. The project will cost more than seven hundred thousand dollars to complete.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating whether alcohol played a role in an early morning accident that happened at K-96 and 167th St. West. The KHP reports a Ford Taurus was traveling East on K-96 around 2:00am on Sunday.  The driver told troopers a Chevy Impala coming from the West tried to turn onto 167th St. West, pulling in front of the Taurus. The impact from the crash was strong enough to push both vehicles off the road, and into a field. The driver of the Impala died at the scene.

A combination of speed and gusty winds may be to blame for a semi rollover in E. Wichita. Officials tell us a semi driver was exiting K-96 to US 54 when the semi rolled over. Police tell us the driver, who was not seriously hurt, was going too fast for the ramp, but that wind may have also been a contributing factor. The semi was hauling pallets of table salt. Both the truck and the driver are from out of state. No one else was hurt.

The chase started on I-135 at Hydraulic where an accident was already clogging traffic. Our news partners at KFDI tell us the car sped down the interstate at 80-miles an hour, eventually exiting at K-96 and Hillside. That's when the car lost it's whole wheel. The driver hit the median and kept driving without a wheel. Sparks were shooting everywhere. At one point the run-a-way car nearly hit another motorist, forcing her to hop up on the curb, popping her tire. Finally, the car stopped near the Wichita State dorms at 21st and Hillside.

Recent changes to Kansas roadways have been causing some confusion with drivers and emergency responders. The Kansas Department of Transportation redesignated segments of highways K-14, K-61, K-96 and K-17 in Kingman and Reno Counties. State Highway 14 from US-54 to K-61 has been changed to K-11. K-17 from US-54 to K-96 is now K-14. K-96 to Nickerson has been redesignated as Highway K-14 with K96 Dual. Official roadway changes have not been communicated.

A 6-year-old boy died Sunday morning in a Wichita hospital after a rollover crash on Saturday. Three others were taken to the hospital after their SUV rolled over near K-96 and Hillside. 6-year-old Cryisol Hall died after he and two others were ejected from the SUV. Officials say the vehicle took the exit too late, and rolled off the highway. Authorities are still investigating whether anyone was wearing seatbelts.

Prosecutors charged six suspects in connection to a Wichita man's death. The body of 34-year-old Shawn Lindsey was found near K-96 and Hillside Jan. 14. Police believe he died Jan. 11, and the suspects dumped his body. Lindsey's death is the city's second homicide of 2013. Three of the suspects face first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping charges. J ustin Jones , Jason Jones and Dang Sean made their first appearance in court Thursday. They remain jailed on $1 million bond.

If you hit a deer, you need to report it to authorities so the animal can be removed from the roadway. Wichita police are reminding the public of this after an officer got into an accident because she swerved to miss a dead deer. Around four Sunday morning, the officer was headed to a call.  She was driving eastbound on K-96 near Oliver when she saw a large object on the road.  The object turned out to be a deer which had been hit by another vehicle. The officer swerved to miss the deer, went into the median, struck the cable barrier and then spun out. She wasn't hurt, but the patrol car was badly damaged.

Wichita police help nab two people accused of a copper theft in Butler County. Deputies alerted police that an SUV involved in a burglary in Andover was headed to Wichita. Officers spotted the Dodge Durango near 21st and Woodlawn at about nine o'clock in the morning. The driver drove off when police tried to pull him over. Officers followed the car West on K-96 and South on I-35. They say speeds reached 90 miles per hour. Eventually, the driver lost control and drove off the road.

One person has died in a head-on collision on K-96 just east of Nickerson. The accident happened just after three o'clock Thursday afternoon at K-96 and Roy L. Smith road. Investigators say an SUV and a semi hauling grain collided. The driver of the SUV, 22-year-old Michael Benert of Arkansas, died in the crash. The driver of the semi, a man from Nebraska, has non-life theatening injuries. Authorities closed K-96 at Riverton Road and Roy L. Smith for several hours.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has released an update on construction projects around Wichita. NB I-235 over Little Ark Bridge Bridge repair on NB I-235 (also EB K-96) over the Little Arkansas River (between Meridian and Broadway) has been completed. All lanes are OPEN. SB I-235 over Little Ark Bridge Bridge repair on SB I-235 (also EB K-96) over the Little Ark River in north Wichita (west of N. Broadway). Single lane traffic started Sept.

Southbound I-235 will be cut down to one lane along the I-235/K-96 bridge beginning Monday.  The construction will affect the area between Meridian and Broadway. K-DOT asks drivers to be patient and expect delays.  If you have an alternate route, you are asked to take it.