KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Kansas City, Kansas, residents say a long-awaited road resurfacing project on Parallel Parkway is overdue. But now work is underway as part of a larger $19.1 million street resurfacing plan.
The Unified Government's public works department operates by a motto: "To use the right treatment at the right time, on the right street — and to keep good roads better longer."
For some community members, Parallel Parkway's time for repairs is been long overdue.
KCK resident Carolyn Wyatt said she was surprised to see progress on road repairs.
"It's like a dream come true," Wyatt said.
Wyatt has been vocal about the condition of Parallel Parkway for years, attending meetings and speaking up to keep the issue in front of Unified Government officials.
"I felt if nobody talked about it, if I didn't keep going to meetings, maybe it wouldn't have gotten done until maybe next year,” Wyatt said. “Or maybe never.”
The moment is bittersweet for Wyatt.
"Our tax dollars should have been at work all the time, not just now," Wyatt said. "We're getting a little attention, but there's more streets that need this done.”
Wyatt said the road's condition had real consequences for people who drove on it daily.
"You'll tear your car up for one thing,” Wyatt said. “It's horrible. You'll have to go up Quindaro just to get a decent ride, so I always avoid Parallel.”
She said the frustration goes beyond the road itself, pointing to broader concerns about investment in the community, particularly in the Northeast neighborhood.
"They always leave us last on everything except for our taxes,” Wyatt said. “We first.”
KCK resident Rebeca Molina is part of a Facebook group where residents have complained about road conditions in Wyandotte County.
She shared similar frustrations to those of Wyatt.
"If you suffer from migraines or headaches, this is like the worst stretch…and it's been like that for years," Molina said.
Molina said Parallel Parkway is a critical road for the area.
"It's such a vital part of a lot of people's commute actually," Molina said. "We've got the school down here, we've got schools down there, churches, so it's going to be nice for the commute," Molina said.
Thousands of other drivers have shared similar frustrations.
Brandon Grover, road and bridge rehab program manager for the Unified Government, said road conditions have been the top concern on resident surveys for more than a decade.
"The condition of the roads has been the number one request for I think the last six cycles, so 12 years," Grover said.
I met Grover at 17th and Parallel Friday as the team continued resurfacing along Parallel Parkway.
Resurfacing work on Parallel Parkway between North 9th Street and North 18th Street began Monday, March 9, and the work is expected to take about 15 days to complete, weather permitting.
The broader project covers Parallel Parkway between 9th Street and I-435, as well as State Avenue and in other northeast neighborhoods, as part of the $19.1 million 2025/2026 Street Resurfacing Plan.
Parallel Parkway has consistently been identified as a top pavement priority by both residents and the governing body.
Grover said the road sees heavy use and its condition worsened significantly in recent years.
"This area especially deteriorated pretty rapidly over the last five or six years, so we knew we had to jump on it and make some major improvements really quickly," Grover said.
The road's recent history
Grover said by 2020 and 2021, crews began noticing problems and started budgeting for repairs in 2025.
He described the resurfacing process as removing the first few inches of deteriorated asphalt and laying new asphalt on top.
Without additional treatment, the road should last 10 years.
With ongoing maintenance treatments every couple of years, it could last 25 years.
The cost
The cost of the work adds up quickly.
One foot of pavement, one lane wide, runs about $12 a foot — roughly $230,000 per mile for pavement alone.
A stretch like Parallel Parkway costs around $750,000 because some of it is concrete, which requires more effort to remove.
Grover noted there are cost-saving measures built into the process: concrete millings are used to repair alleys, and asphalt millings are recycled into new asphalt that gets laid back down on the road.
The bigger picture
The project is part of a broader, citywide pavement challenge.
The Unified Government manages roughly 2,400 lane miles of pavement, and the overall condition of that network has declined over time.
A full pavement assessment completed in 2018 showed a network-average Pavement Condition Index, or PCI, of 56 out of 100.
A follow-up assessment in 2022 showed that number had dropped to 48.
PCI is a standardized rating system used to measure pavement conditions and help public works departments make data-driven decisions about which streets need attention first.
The lower the score, the more expensive repairs become.
That citywide challenge is also reflected in pothole activity.
Since Jan. 1, 2026, public works crews have patched more than 9,000 potholes across the community.
Resurfacing projects like the one on Parallel Parkway provide a more durable improvement on corridors that carry significant traffic.
Roads that get routine maintenance mean fewer potholes to patch.
In addition to asphalt resurfacing, residents may also see related concrete curb and gutter repairs, along with pedestrian access ramp replacements in areas scheduled for pavement work under this contract.
No road closures are expected, but drivers should slow down and give crews plenty of room to work safely when entering work zones.
What took so long?
Grover said residents have asked why progress moved so slowly.
He cited two reasons: the need to coordinate with the BPU and gas companies, which can take a couple of years, along with the challenge of collecting enough funding.
The Unified Government is already coordinating with utility companies on projects planned for 2028 and 2029.
Road projects are funded through a dedicated sales tax fund — public works receives one-eighth of a cent sales tax for neighborhood infrastructure improvements — and a special street and highway gas tax.
The commission authorized an additional $6.5 million specifically for State Avenue and Parallel Parkway efforts in last year’s amended budget.
"Unfortunately, it's kind of a perfect storm of problems," Grover said. "Some things changed within the priorities of the Unified Government and it got put on hold for a little bit, but we kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and we have enough money now to actually get it done.”
Grover said the public works team uses a data-driven approach to determine which roads to prioritize.
Residents can submit requests through the 3-1-1 system or the MyWyco app, which the team reviews daily.
"We've taken a lot of effort into making sure we're doing this the right way," Grover said. "It feels great to be able to give the public what they're seeing and what they're wanting to make sure they're having the best experience they can on their road network.”
Grover also acknowledged any disruption the project causes for drivers.
"We want to apologize for the inconvenience that this kind of work is, but sometimes it just has to happen in order to make the progress you're going to see after this is done," Grover said.
Molina and Wyatt said they hope to keep pushing for more improvements across the community.
"It's kind of like a sword with a double-sided edge,” Molina said. “It's nice because you do see it, but it's also a slap in the face because there's so much money that has not been put back into the community. It's nice to see that it's being done, but it's also a shame that not more can be done.”
Wyatt echoed that sentiment, expressing concern for neighbors on fixed incomes.
"I feel more sad about the senior citizens that are on a fixed income, and they can't afford to pay their taxes," Wyatt said. "Our taxes should have been at work years ago, not just now. We still living. We still living today.”
Residents can learn more about current and upcoming street, sewer, stormwater, and other infrastructure projects by visiting the Public Works Department's "In The Works Construction Projects Map" at wycokck.org.
Grover also answered resident questions in a Facebook live Friday.
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