Couple sue city over century-old tunnel under Lawrence neighborhood

After discovering a century-old tunnel directly under their house, a Lawrence couple have filed a lawsuit demanding that the city either relocate the tunnel — which is still used for storm water drainage — or pay them for damages.

The 6-by-6 foot, arched brick drainage tunnel was constructed in 1911 in response to a typhoid outbreak and follows the course of a ravine that once ran from Mount Oread to the Kansas River. More than 100 years later, when Sarah Merriman and Donna Geisler bought their house at 812 Ohio St., they had no idea that the tunnel ran corner-to-corner under the home.

As the Journal-World reported last year, the couple asked the city to relocate the tunnel, but the city declined due to the significant cost of doing so. In response, Merriman and Geisler recently filed a lawsuit against the city, saying the city is trespassing on their property and asking that the city award them at least $75,000 in damages and either relocate the tunnel or purchase the property from them.