MANHATTAN, KS – OCTOBER 30: College football fans tailgate before a game between the Kansas State Wildcats and TCU Horned Frogs at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter Aiken/.)
MANHATTAN (KSNT)- K-State Athletics is suggesting some fans adjust their route to Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday.
Officials are suggesting a change of plans for fans who plan to come to Manhattan from the south or west and typically use I-70 through Junction City. Construction through a 7-mile stretch in that area reportedly caused near stand-still traffic in K-State’s first game.
A pavement replacement project is underway between Exit 295 on the west and mile marker 302 on the east of Junction City. The passing lanes in each direction are closed. It is expected in the next week that traffic will be redirected to head-to-head on one side of I-70 as the project continues.
Fans reportedly experienced as much as an hour delay during peak traffic prior to the Wildcats’ week one game against SEMO.
What should fans do to avoid this issue? Here’s what K-State said:
“Officials with the Kansas Department of Transportation are suggesting fans traveling from the south on US-77 continue past the Junction City exit and stay on US-77 north through Riley, where US-77 merges into US-24. At the junction of Tuttle Creek Boulevard, turn south toward Manhattan, where fans can get to the stadium by either exiting at Seth Child Road on the west or staying on Tuttle Creek Boulevard to Marlatt or Kimball avenues on the east.”
Fans coming from the west can avoid the issue in a similar fashion by exiting at US-77 prior to reaching the construction in Junction City or exiting at Abilene north onto K-15 to the junction of Highway 82 through Wakefield, then turning north onto US-77 around to Riley.
Officials also suggest fans consider using K-177 (Bill Snyder Family Highway) or McDowell Creek Road from the east side of the city to access I-70 after the game, to avoid heavy backups on K-18.
Fans are encouraged to do a few other things to avoid gameday disasters:
- Plan ahead: Leave enough time to slow down and allow additional travel time in case of heavy traffic
- Use a GPS system which could help find you an alternate route
K-State and Troy kickoff at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
