November 6, 2009

With a large crowd expected in Manhattan for the KU-KSU football game Saturday, the Kansas Highway Patrol sent out a statement to fans travelling to the game;

The parking lots to Bill Snyder Family Stadium will open at 6:30 a.m.
on Saturday morning, and fans are encouraged to leave home early. With an early kickoff time, and increased fans traveling with two Kansas teams playing, delays are likely. Common areas for delays at K-State home games are for fans coming from the east on I-70, exiting to K-177 (Exit 313), and fans coming from the K-177/K-18 interchange in south Manhattan. Fans traveling from the west on I-70 may encounter delays at the I-70/K-18 junction (Exit 303). K-18 is under construction near Ogden, and fans are encouraged to use caution in this area.

Travelers may notice an increased Patrol presence both before, and after the game. Additional troopers will monitor traffic between Wamego and Manhattan on U.S. 24, and between Topeka and Manhattan on I-70. KHP will also be conducting a saturation patrol in the Riley and Geary County areas. During the saturation patrol, troopers, and sometimes local officers will converge on a specific area looking for any drivers who are impaired. The saturation patrol will begin immediately following the game, and troopers will be working extra hours courtesy of a KDOT-funded grant.

Because of construction on the intersection of U.S. 24 and Marlatt Avenue, post-game traffic routes will be altered for some. Those exiting from the east parking lots of the stadium, and those leaving the nearby lot on the northwest corner of Kimball and Denison will be sent east on Kimball Avenue to U.S. 24 (Tuttle Creek Boulevard). The main change will be for traffic heading north on U.S. 24. Drivers will now need to go east on Kimball to the intersection of U.S. 24, and then go north.
Troopers and local officers will be controlling the U.S. 24/Kimball intersection on Saturday. A map has been made directing travelers to the appropriate routes while construction is underway, and is posted on www.kansashighwaypatrol.org under 2009 Press Releases, #2009-42.