John Rodriguez
John Rodriguez
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by Keith Todd, Public Information Officer Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

 

 

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has confirmed plans to start an extended closure of KY 351/Zion Road at the 5 mile marker in eastern Henderson County on Monday, March 2, 2015.
 
The closure is to allow the demolition and replacement of a bridge over a branch of Elam Ditch as part of a project to improve the alignment of two curves just west of the Zion community.  Once KY 351/Zion Road closes on March 2nd, the roadway is expected to remain closed until sometime in July.
 
There will be a marked detour established along KY 1078 and the Audubon Parkway then via the Pennyrile Parkway to connect back to KY 351.  However, many Zion area residents may choose to self-detour via other routes.  The marked detour adds 4.9 miles or about 6 minutes to a trip between Henderson and Zion.   KYTC engineers provided early notice of the project to allow emergency agencies and Henderson County Schools to plan for the closure.  School officials have made arrangements to temporarily alter bus travel routes.
 
Replacement of the curves between KY 351 mile point 4.7 and mile point 5.3 has been planned since 2009. The curves had a high crash rate going back to 1993.  KYTC traffic engineers requested a safety project for the area as early as 2002.  At that time additional signage was added to alert motorists to the curves with a reduced advisory speed.  Following three crashes that included one fatality in August 2009, county officials requested a highway safety audit of the area.
 
The detailed safety review prompted traffic engineers to make a number of specific recommendations, including addition of signage with flashing LED light enhancement, pavement edge lines, extending a 45 mph speed limit through Graham Hill, and cutting several trees to improve sight-distance for drivers.  While those changes lowered the crash rate on the curves, engineers continued efforts to gain funding to allow an extensive realignment of the roadway.
 
Initial work on reconstruction of the curves started Feb.2 with the contractor working along the right of way with a work zone lane restriction. By setting a target date for the planned closure 3 weeks in advance, the contractor was able to start preliminary work while keeping the roadway open as long as possible to minimize  inconvenience to the public.  By completing all work under one closure, the contractor can avoid disrupting school bus routes in the fall.
 
The curve reconstruction project includes a substantial amount of earth work with several deep cuts totaling 21,000 cubic yards of material, as well as construction of a bridge, a large culvert, a 275-foot retaining wall, and water line re-routing.
 
Hazex Construction, of Henderson, was the successful bidder on a $1,812,756 highway improvement project.
 
Approximately 3,400 vehicles travel this section of KY 351 between Zion and Graham Hill in an average day.
 

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