A traffic construction advisory that just landed in my inbox:
A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is continuing to ramp up work to upgrade the Interstate 69 Interchange with the Breathitt-Pennyrile Parkway and the Wendell Ford-Western Kentucky Parkway south of Madisonville in Hopkins County. To facilitate this increased level of activity the contractor plans to restrict traffic to one lane in each direction running along the Pennyrile Parkway from mile point 34.3 to mile point 35.1 starting next week.
This lane restriction with two-way traffic running on the southbound lanes will include a 15 ft. MAXIMUM LOAD WIDTH. There will be a strictly enforced 55 mile per hour speed limit in this work zone with an enhanced enforcement presence.
Motorists who regularly travel through the I-69/Pennyrile Pkwy/Western Kentucky Pkwy Interchange south of Madisonville may have already noticed construction work on crossovers in this work zone. Once those crossovers are completed, all traffic will move to the southbound lanes with two-way traffic. The contractor plans to use a median barrier wall along this restricted section for about 8/10ths of a mile.
The $29 million design-build contract was awarded to the Rogers Group, Inc., and QK4 Inc., with an expected completion date in May of 2015.
Kentucky now has 55 miles of I-69. The route follows I-24 for 17 miles from The Julian Carroll-Purchase Parkway at Calvert City to Eddyville. I-69 then runs for 38 miles along the former Wendell Ford-Western Kentucky Parkway from Eddyville to the Pennyrile Parkway near Madisonville.
The existing I-69/Pennyrile Parkway cloverleaf requires motorists to slow to about 45 miles per hour to negotiate the ramps through the interchange. The new arrangement will allow motorists to make the transition between the west and north legs of the interchange at normal highway speeds.
The interchange project in Hopkins County is among about 10 major projects scheduled over the next 2 to 3 years aimed at extended I-69 northward along the Pennyrile toward Henderson and southward along the Purchase Parkway toward Fulton. I-69 will eventually cover about 150 miles through Kentucky.
Timely traffic advisories for the 11 counties of KYTC Highway District 2 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict2. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.