Man o' War Boulevard
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Man o' War Boulevard, named after the legendary racehorse, is a 16-mile (26 km) four-lane urban arterial with curbs and sidewalks its entire length, circling Lexington, Kentucky to its south. Its western terminus is at US 60 (Versailles Road) at Keeneland's main entrance, where the highway traverses southeast intersecting with US 68 (Harrodsburg Road), US 27 (Nicholasville Road), and other minor roads. It turn turns east and northeast, intersecting KY 1974 (Tates Creek Road), Alumni Drive, and US 25/US 421 (Richmond Road). It ends at Interstate 75, where the highway becomes two-lane KY 1425 to US 60 (Winchester Road) east of the city.
Before Man o' War Boulevard was constructed, KY 1927 (Liberty Road) and KY 1927 (Todds Road) formerly intersected KY 1425 at Cadentown.
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[edit] History
Construction on Man o' War Boulevard began in 1973 [1]. By November 1983, it was completed to Tates Creek Road [2]; one year later, it was extended to Nicholasville Road. In January 1985, Man o' War had been extended to Bold Bidder Drive and work was beginning on a segment to extend the road to Todds Road.
By 1986, it stretched from US 68 (Harrodsburg Road) to Armstrong Mill Road, a distance of a little over 10 miles (16 km). The entire facility was four-lanes divided by a raised grass median, except for the segment from Palumbo Drive to the terminus at Armstrong Mill Road, where it was two-lanes with turning lanes on four-lane right-of-way; that portion of Man o' War was widened in 1987 for $3.3 million.
The 2.4 mile (4 km) section from Armstrong Mill Road to Interstate 75 would be one of the costliest segments of the highway to be constructed [3]; it would feature an interchange at the interstate that was projected to cost $8.2 million. The right-of-way purchase from Palumbo Drive to Interstate 75 began in August of 1986; construction was completed two years later. The alignment chosen followed south of Todds Road east of Armstrong Mill Road, then cross to the north side of Bryant Road and interchange with Interstate 75 approximately 200 feet north of the Bryant Road overpass.
The completion of the final segment, seven total [2], signaled the end of road work along Man o' War Boulevard. It was completed at a cost of $45 million, and was jointly constructed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
When Man o' War Boulevard opened, it featured a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed limit and only a handful of traffic lights. Since suburban development has expanded southward in the past ten years, the number of traffic lights has dramatically increased. It now hosts a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit for most of its length, with the exception of KY 1968 (Parkers Mill Road) west to its western terminus.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Miller, John Winn. "City starts Man o' War extension effort." Herald-Leader. 1986 Aug. 15.
- ^ a b Davis, Merlene. "SEVERAL PROJECTS HELPING TO EASE AREA'S TRAFFIC WOES." Herald-Leader [Lexington] 27 Jan. 1985. 10 Jan. 2007.
- ^ Miller, John Winn. "City starts Man o' War Extension Effort." 15 Aug. 1986. Herald-Leader [Lexington]. 10 Nov. 2006.
Usage note: Most government documents render the name of the road as "Man O War", possibly due to a bias against including apostrophes in geographic names. However, all street signs along the road display "Man o' War".
