Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3
Even though the construction season is entering its final months there are still numerous projects that the KYTC is working on in the Bowling Green/Warren County area. The resurfacing and rehabilitation project on Interstate 65 in Warren County is mostly complete. The project repaired and resurfaced I-65 from the 26 mile marker to 13 mile marker. All the major traffic impacts related to the project are complete and motorists are driving on a new road surface on all six lanes.
The U.S. 231 Scottsville Highway Safety Improvement Project from KY 884 Three Springs Road to Bryant Way is mainly complete. The turn lanes throughout the corridor have been extended, additional turn lanes have been added on Scottsville Road to Cave Mill Road along with additional turns added on Cave Mill Road to Scottsville Road. The non-signalized intersections in this section have been improved to be right turns only. We are already seeing improvements in traffic flow in that area.
The other Highway Safety Improvement Project on U.S. 231 Scottsville Road in the Alvaton area continues. Crews are working on constructing the seven RCUT intersections through the corridor between Dye Ford Road and Old Scottsville Road. Motorists should expect lane closures in that section of road until later this year.
The I-165 Exit 7 interchange reconfiguration continues. Motorists are driving on the new ramp configurations while the old clover leaf ramps are being removed. The ramps are not finished, but motorists are able to drive on them. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. These are several of the major projects going on in the Warren County area. Please follow the KYTC District 3 Facebook page and Twitter account to catch up on all the construction project going on in the area.
City of Bowling Green
Phase II of the Downtown Improvements Project construction began in July and continues streetscape improvements on College and State Streets from Spring Alley to 6th Avenue, including portions of 8th Avenue and Main Avenue (east and west of the downtown square). The project is scheduled for completion in November.
Design is substantially complete for the second phase of Shive Lane Improvements. This project will continue the widening from the recently completed roundabout at Ken Bale Boulevard and the existing Shive Lane intersection and continue to Lovers Lane. With this construction, a roundabout will be included at the intersection with Middle Bridge Road. Additionally, a traffic signal will be installed at Lovers Lane and two signals will be removed – one at Middle Bridge Road and one at Fruit of the Loom Drive. A multi-use path is also included along the length of both phases.
The City’s Annual Overlay contract was awarded in July and will be complete by the end of 2021. This contract includes 15.5 miles of city streets to be paved along with over 50 handicap ramp upgrades.
The Westen St. corridor was recently selected to receive traffic improvements through the construction of several single lane roundabouts. The intersections of Highland Way, Patrick Way, Rockingham Ave, and Ashley Circle were selected for this project. Converting these all-way stop controlled intersections to roundabouts will help alleviate the delay motorists routinely experience, especially during the PM peak hour. All four roundabouts will have the same dimensions and will be sized to easily convey passenger vehicles, schools buses, and fire trucks. Each roundabout will incorporate raised splitter islands to separate entering and exiting traffic as well as accommodations for current and future sidewalks. Preliminary design has started with final design scheduled to be completed February 2022. Construction of all four roundabouts is expected to be spread out over the next few years. The roundabout at Rockingham Ave. will take priority and construction should be completed late summer 2022.
The existing intersections with Ashley Circle and Scottsville Rd. – Ashley Circle (north) at Wilkinson Trace and Ashley Circle (south) at Ashley St. – were originally constructed approximately 50 years ago. Since then, development along the Ashley Circle corridor has continued to increase. The result of this growth are long delays experienced by motorists at these two signalized intersections. To reduce these delays, the City proposes installation of dedicated right turn lanes at both locations to allow motorists to make right turns without waiting for vehicles going straight to clear each intersection. Preliminary design has started with final design scheduled to be completed February 2022. Improvements at the Ashely Circle (south) intersection are expected to occur in 2022 and construction for Ashley Circle (north) is currently scheduled for 2023.
The City is committed to providing a walkable community and therefore the City allocates funds to build new sidewalks in areas that show a need. Each year candidate projects are prioritized based upon a set scoring system to determine where funds will be spent. Sidewalk construction was recently completed along Loving Way, Holly Drive, Highland Way, and North Lee Drive. The City has finished prioritizing new sidewalk projects for Fiscal Year 2022 and has selected candidate projects along portions of Euclid Ave., Morgantown Rd., Creekwood Ave., Rodes Dr., Riverwood Ave., and Rockingham Ave. Public meetings for these locations will be held in October to gauge neighborhood support then presented to the Board of Commissioners in November for final approval. If approved, survey and design will begin later this year with construction occurring in 2022. Additionally, the City continues to allocate funds annually to rehabilitate existing sidewalk. The Sidewalk Maintenance Program identifies the process by which staff inspects and choses which areas will be inspected in a given year. Depending on funding, the city can correct safety hazards in hundreds of locations across the city per year.
The final phase of the multi-use path along Smallhouse Road from Ridgecrest Way to Scottsville Road will begin this fall. The 8’ wide concrete path will connect existing greenways and sidewalk along Campbell Lane to the Covington Woods Park area. This project continues the path that was completed in recent years from Campbell Lane to Ridgecrest Way.
The City’s newly implemented Greenways Program mimics the Sidewalk program where candidate projects are ranked and selected annually based upon allocated funding. Design will begin this fall for the current fiscal year’s projects along portions of Smallhouse Road, Bryant Way, and Lovers Lane. Additionally, a project is currently underway to connect the greenway trail on the Weldon Peete Park side of River Street to the trail to the west. The new connection will be beneath the roadway bridge and thus eliminate the need for users to cross the heavily traveled roadway as they do today.
The Public Works Department continues to work with the City’s Neighborhood & Community Services Department to provide better pedestrian connections throughout town. Sidewalk will soon be constructed along Johnson Drive and Dennis Way. Additionally, a Transportation Improvement Program (TAP) grant awarded to the City in conjunction with the Greenways Commission that will provide pedestrian and bicycle connections between existing downtown greenways facilities, key destinations in the West End, and will ultimately improve problematic intersection crossings. Construction is set to begin as early as this winter.