Roads of Lexington, Kentucky

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Part of the series on 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. The zero milestone ^[1]for Lexington is the intersection of East and West Main Streets and North and South Limestone Streets. A camel sculpture dating to 1926 marks the point for the AAA

Contents 1 Interstates 2 U.S. highways 3 State routes 4 City controlled 5 Defunct 6 Unbuilt 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Interstates

Lexington's urban services boundary is adjacent to 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 relatively 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 Street, 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 ^[2]. 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 Avenue, 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.^[2] Today, the four-lane section extends for about a mile (1.6 km) into Jessamine County, partly because the region's largest church, Southland Christian Church, is located along Harrodsburg Road just on the Jessamine side of the county line.
  • 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.^[3].
• 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 in southeast Lexington that traverses into Clark County.
• KY 922 (Newtown Pike) is a four- and two-lane highway in north Lexington that traverses into Scott County.
• KY 1425, also known as Bryant Road, begins east of Interstate 75 and Man o' War Boulevard. Its former routing was much longer.
• KY 1723 is also known as part of Forbes Road. It formerly extended along Red Mile Road and Virginia Street.
• KY 1927, also known as Liberty and Todds Roads, act as connectors from central Lexington to the southern suburbs. Both are two-lane facilities designed in an era when there were expansive 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 Lexington.

[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 ^[2]. Construction on the $4 million diamond interchange was to begin in 1986 ^[3].
  • 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 ^[2]. The project would call for four-lanes north of New Circle and five-lanes to the south ^[3].
• 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 1425 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,

• Clays Mill Road from KY 1980 (Brannon Road) to US 68 (Harrodsburg Road) was once a state route.
• KY 1683
• KY 2333: Part of Cooper Drive.
• KY 2903

[edit] Unbuilt

The East-West Expressway was a primary feature of the Wilbur Smith Plan of 1962. The interstate-quality highway would have connected the western fringe of downtown to the eastern edge, and have been located between High and Maxwell Streets. ^[4] The plan also included a widened 2nd Street, which would have been a six-lane thoroughfare north of the central business district. Another proposal included a freeway in the Vine Street corridor after the removal of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway tracks. ^[5] The design alternatives included a depressed, at-grade, and elevated highway. Each proposal was discarded as impractical, as each plan included insufficient ramp access, blockage of downtown traffic, and a necessity to renovate adjoining buildings to raise the floor levels.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The new Jefferson Street, High Street, and West Main Street viaduct were completed in late 1980. ^[6]
• In 1984, a new $3.5 million project computerized all 230 traffic signals in Fayette County. ^[7] It reduced travel time by 20% to 30%.^[7]
• Construction began in January 1988 that extended Rose Street from its terminus at Vine to DeWeese and Fourth Street ^[8]. 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.
• Many of Lexington's streets and highways were named after horses ^[9].
  • Aristides Boulevard was named after the first Kentucky Derby winner in 1875 ^[9].
  • Citation Boulevard was named after a bay colt bred at the Calumet Farm, who won the 1948 Triple Crown and raced for seven years earning over $1 million ^[9].
  • Man o' War Boulevard was named after a foal born in 1917 that went on to win all but one of his 21 lifetime races ^[9].
  • Pink Pigeon Parkway was titled after a seven-time stakes-winning filly ^[9].
  • Sir Barton Way was named after the first Triple Crown winner in 1919 ^[9].
  • Star Shoot Parkway was titled after a sire of Sire Barton and 181 other stakes winners ^[9].
• Many other streets were named after horse racing tracks that were in the Lexington region. ^[9] Notable examples include Red Mile Road, which is adjacent to The Red Mile; Race Street; and Turfway Drive, named after a track in Northern Kentucky. Other streets are named after tracks in other parts of the United States; a notable example is Pimlico Parkway, named after the famous track in Baltimore.
• Other roads were named after horse farms, such as Beaumont Centre Parkway, Idle Hour Drive and Overbrook Circle.^[9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website of Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Official website of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet