Roads of Lexington, Kentucky

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Highways in Kentucky
Interstate Highways
Parkways and named roads
U.S. Routes
State Routes
City specific

The roads of Lexington, Kentucky include Interstate 64 and Interstate 75, as their junction is near the city. There are five U.S. highways serving the city. A beltway surrounds central Lexington, while numerous state routes and connector roads fill in the transportation gap.

Contents

[edit] Interstates

Lexington is located near the junction of Interstate 64 and Interstate 75. The city's downtown, however, is not served by any controlled-access facilities and traffic congestion during rush-hour along the arterial roadways is a significant problem.

[edit] U.S. highways

  • US 25 is known otherwise as Georgetown Road, Main Street, and Richmond Road.
  • US 27 is also known as Paris Pike, Broadway, Bolivar, South Upper Street, South Limestone, and Nicholasville Road.
    • With traffic exceeding 45,000 vehicles per day on Nicholasville Road, widening commenced in 1987 on a segment from Southland Drive to New Circle Road [1]. The roadway was widened from five-lanes to seven. The variable lane assignments were continued. The state also agreed to reconstruct Nicholasville Road from New Circle Road to Man o' War Boulevard.
  • US 60 is also known as Versailles Road, High and Maxwell Streets, Vine Street/Main Street, Midland Road, and Winchester Road.
  • US 68 enters as Harrodsburg Road before becoming Broadway and leaving as Paris Pike.
    • Studies began in 1986 for roadway widening from two to four-lanes between Man o' War Boulevard and the Jessamine County line [1].
    • The Norfolk Southern railroad underpass was completed in 1986 along South Broadway. The $7.8 million five-lane underpass replaced a four-lane at-grade crossing [2].
  • US 421 is also known as the Leestown Pike from the west, then Main Street/Vine Street and finally Richmond Road.

[edit] State routes

  • KY 4 (New Circle Road) acts as a beltway around central Lexington. Three-fourths of the highway is limited-access, whereas the remainder is an urban principal arterial.
  • KY 418 (Athens-Boonesboro Road) is a four and two lane highway southeast of Lexington that traverses into Clark county.
  • KY 1723 is also known as part of Forbes Road. It formerly extended along Red Mile Road and Virginia Street.
  • KY 1925, also known as Bryant Road, begins east of Interstate 75 and Man o' War Boulevard. Its former routing was much longer.
  • KY 1927, also known as Liberty and Todds Road, act as connectors from central Lexington to the southern suburbs. Both are two-lane facilities designed in an era when there were expanse farmlands surrounding the highway; they are now entangled with numerous subdivisions. Both are slated for widenening to three-lanes with curbs and sidewalks.
  • KY 1974, known for most of its length as Tates Creek Road with other sections known as High Street, Euclid Avenue, and Avenue of Champions, proceeds from the University of Kentucky campus to rural southeast Fayette county.

[edit] City controlled

  • Citation Boulevard is a four-lane divided highway that will act as part of a northern arc from US 421 (Leestown Road) to KY 353 (Russell Cave Road).
  • Clays Mill Road is a former state route now under city control.
    • Design work for a new interchange on New Circle Road were planned beginning in the early 1980s, however, residential opposition nixed the project before the construction phase [1]. Construction on the $4 million diamond interchange was to begin in 1986 [2].
    • The state of Kentucky had agreed to improve Clays Mill Road from Man o' War Boulevard to Pasadena Drive, and later agreed to improve the road from Pasadena Drive to Harrodsburg Road and from the Jessamine County line to Man o' War Boulevard [1]. The project would call for four-lanes north of New Circle and five-lanes to the south [2].
  • Hays Boulevard is a four-lane divided highway with bike lanes and widewalks that connects KY 418 (Athens-Boonesboro Road) to KY 1927 (Todds Road).
  • Man o' War Boulevard acts as a southern beltway, however, it is a four-lane urban principal arterial with curbs and sidewalks. This was constructed with state funds but is under city control.
  • Polo Club Boulevard is a two and four-lane route that will connect KY 1927 (Todds Road) to KY 1925 to the east of Interstate 75 and Man o' War Boulevard. It is partially completed, with the remaining segments under construction.
  • Hume Bedford Pike is a two-lane pike that connects Lexington to Paris with one of the most scenic routes in the area.

[edit] Defunct

The city also has several defunct state routes,

[edit] Trivia

  • Construction began in January 1988 that extended Rose Street from its terminus at Vine to DeWeese and Fourth Street [3]. It was extended several years later to Fifth Street. The four-lane extension cost $5.5 million and was completed in 1989. From Main Street north to its terminus, it was named Elm Tree Lane although it is a continuation of Rose Street.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Honeycutt, Valarie. "LEXINGTON TO GET $24 MILLION FOR ROADS STATE TO HELP CITY LAUNCH MORE THAN A DOZEN PROJECTS." Herald-Leader [Lexington] 5 Sept. 1986. 10 Jan. 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Davis, Merlene. "SEVERAL PROJECTS HELPING TO EASE AREA'S TRAFFIC WOES." Herald-Leader [Lexington] 27 Jan. 1985. 10 Jan. 2007.
  3. ^ Berman, Michelle. "The road east new business, new life at the other end of Main." 27 Dec. 1987. Herald-Leader [Lexington]. 9 Nov. 2006.

[edit] External links

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