(KAIR)--This week’s approval of the Atchison City Commission to revise a portion of the City’s heavy truck route won’t go into effect immediately.

Instead, according to a release from Assistant City Manager Joe Warren, the change will take effect following the now-approved widening of Harper Drive, between 2nd and 3rd Streets.

In order to make that happen, the Commission approved up to $130,000 for the project, utilizing the construction firm already in place nearby for the construction of a Benedictine College dormitory.

For now, truck traffic going to and from Sedgewick Road north of the city, which becomes 2nd Street inside the city limits, remains allowed to follow the street south, into the city’s downtown area. However, the change approved during Monday’s Commission meeting, and taking effect once the street widening is complete, will mean trucks needing to instead utilize Harper Drive to K-7 Highway.

Warren in the release, acknowledges that the revised route “will be a change for the drivers and those residents along Harper,” but says “pedestrian safety must be a priority,” citing the high amount of pedestrian traffic along 2nd Street due to the college, Saint Benedict’s Church, and Saint Benedict’s Catholic School, as well as the heavy on-street parking along the street.

A timeline for the completion of the street widening project isn’t immediately developed.