GARRARD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's a story we've been following through on and reporting on extensively over the past year. People demanding changes to an intersection in Garrard County that's been the scenen of several fatal crashes.
Now, after months of construction, drivers in Garrard County who use US-27 will be able to bid farewell to the construction and welcome a safer road. In one week, a restricted crossing U-turn will sit in the middle.
"This is a heavily traveled area and we're always looking for ways to improve for safety," said Natasha Lacy with the Department of Highways in District 7. "R-cuts are used in suburban, rural, and also urban settings. They reduce the points of conflict and left turns, so it makes it much easier for motorists to pass through the area."
Lacy explains the R-Cut at the intersection of US-27 and Rogers Road forces drivers to turn one way instead of crossing the intersection.
"We have several R-cuts now. In fact, there are um a series of those in western Kentucky. One in Elizabethtown has reduced crashes by almost 80%, so that's really significant," said Lacy.
The significance of this new R-Cut? It could save lives. Since 2011, there have been nine deaths on that stretch. Glendan Barker, the Garrard County District 3 Magistrate, says 17,000 vehicles travel through that intersection every day.
"We'd like to ask the public to be patient. This is a new project and to take time to move through the area and to use caution when they start to drive through the R-cut until they get more accustomed to the feel of the traffic flow," said Lacy as the construction begins to close up.
KYTC's next project will be combining four intersections on Richmond Road to create an R-Cut. Construction for that has already begun.
