U.S. 69 Corridor Modernization and Expansion Project (69Express)

Project Overview

In its first official joint venture, Emery Sapp & Sons (ESS) partnered with Ames Construction—together known as the US 69 Express Constructors—to deliver the $572‑million 69Express project in close collaboration with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), and the City of Overland Park. The result is not only Kansas’ first express lanes corridor, but also the largest construction project in KDOT’s history, completed on time and within budget.
From the outset, the project demanded speed of delivery, and construction began rapidly in the summer of 2023.

Over the course of the work, the joint‑venture team logged nearly 1.2 million manhours, maintained an aggressive production schedule, and carefully managed traffic through the state’s busiest four‑lane highway. Lane closures were limited and highly strategic, minimizing travel delays while ensuring crews could safely execute the complex urban construction program.

The completed corridor reflects an unprecedented scope of improvements, including 26 new bridges, 6 interchange upgrades, 11 noise walls, and 1.4 million square yards of pavement, resulting in 51 lane miles of new pavement. The project also reconstructed five major trails and created three new trail connections, enhancing multimodal accessibility throughout the area. Construction efforts encompassed more than 1.1 million cubic yards of grading and excavation, the addition of a new express toll lane in each direction from 103rd Street to 151st Street, and the replacement of deteriorating 50‑year‑old pavement.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the express lanes support more than $7 billion in annual regional economic activity. They improve travel reliability, reduce congestion, shorten commutes, and enhance safety through fewer crashes and faster emergency‑response times. Designed with long‑term sustainability in mind, the upgraded corridor is engineered to accommodate the region’s projected quadrupling of peak‑hour traffic by 2050 and to serve travelers effectively for the next 50 years and beyond.

69Express stands as a milestone achievement and a testament to the strong partnership between ESS, Ames Construction, KDOT, KTA, and the City of Overland Park—delivering a safer, more efficient, and future‑ready transportation corridor for the region.