Roads in Lexington, Kentucky

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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.

Interstate Highways

Note: Lexington's urban services boundary is adjacent to the junction of I-64 and I-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.

U.S. Highways

  • US 25.svg US 25 is known otherwise as Georgetown Road, Main Street, and Richmond Road.
  • US 27.svg US 27 is also known as Paris Pike, Broadway, Bolivar Street, South Upper Street, South Limestone, and Nicholasville Road.
  • US 60.svg US 60 is also known as Versailles Road, High and Maxwell Streets, Vine Street/Main Street, Midland Avenue, and Winchester Road.
  • US 68.svg US 68 enters as Harrodsburg Road before becoming Broadway and leaving as Paris Pike. Its intersection at New Circle Road has been redesigned as a "double diamond" to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce accidents.
  • US 421.svg US 421 is also known as the Leestown Road from the west, then Main Street/Vine Street and finally Richmond Road. It is currently (2014) being widened from its intersection with New Circle Road northwest several miles out of Lexington.

Kentucky state highways

  • Elongated circle 4.svg KY 4, known locally as 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.
  • 28px KY 418, routed along Athens-Boonesboro Road, is a four- and two-lane highway in southeast Lexington that traverses into Clark County.
  • Elongated circle 922.svg KY 922, also known as Newtown Pike, is an important highway in north Lexington that connects with I-75 and traverses into Scott County.
  • 30px KY 1425, formerly known as Bryant Road, is the segment of Man o' War Boulevard east of I-75.
  • 30px KY 1723 is also known as Forbes Road.
  • Elongated circle 1927.svg KY 1927 (also known as Liberty Road and Todds Road) serves as a connector from central Lexington to the southern suburbs. Portions of both roads are being widened[2] from two lanes to multiple lanes with curbs and sidewalks. Todds Road eventually leads to the southwestern part of Clark County junctioning with KY 1923 (Combs Ferry Road).
  • Elongated circle 1974.svg KY 1974 is known for most of its length as Tates Creek Road with other sections known as High Street, Euclid Avenue, and Avenue of Champions, runs from the University of Kentucky campus to rural southeast Lexington.

City/County Routes

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

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.

References

  1. Zero Milestone Sculpture
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  3. 3.0 3.1 Honeycutt, Valarie. "LEXINGTON TO GET $24 MILLION FOR ROADS STATE TO HELP CITY LAUNCH MORE THAN A DOZEN PROJECTS." Lexington Herald-Leader, 5 Sept. 1986. 10 Jan. 2007.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Davis, Merlene. "SEVERAL PROJECTS HELPING TO EASE AREA'S TRAFFIC WOES." Lexington Herald-Leader, 27 Jan. 1985. 10 Jan. 2007.
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External links