As part of the traffic signal phase change at the intersection of US 45-Business/Kentucky Avenue and 16th Street in Paducah completed last week, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has reworked the coordinated signal phasing all along US 45/Kentucky Avenue from the 21st Street traffic signal to the US 60/I-24 Business Loop at the 3rd Street intersection in downtown Paducah.
During the reconstruction of this section of US 45-Business along Kentucky Avenue, signals along this section had to be placed on timers. This somewhat limited traffic flow.
While signals had previously been coordinated from 13th Street to 3rd Street, the recent phasing change at the US 45-Business/Kentucky Avenue Intersection with 16th Street now allows all signals between 21st Street and 3rd Street to be coordinated by a central controller.
Signals all along this section of Kentucky Avenue are now sequenced to improve east-west traffic flow along Kentucky Avenue. Theoretically, a vehicle heading west on Kentucky Avenue that gets a green light obeying the posted speed limit could pass through all signals to the intersection with Joe Clifton Drive without encountering a red light.
Activation of pedestrian phases at intersections along Kentucky Avenue will disrupt the signal coordination system from time to time. Pedestrian phases were added for all four approaches at the 16th Street intersection during the recent signal phase change there.
Once the coordinated signal system has been activated for about a month, technicians will check traffic flow data and traffic time runs to make appropriate adjustments to the coordinated system.
As a reminder, the new phasing at Kentucky Avenue and 16th Street now requires motorists traveling east and west on Kentucky Avenue to yield to oncoming traffic before making a turn.
Approximately 11,000 vehicles travel various sections of US 45-Business/Kentucky Avenue between 21st Street and 3rd Street in Paducah during an average day.
Timely traffic advisories for the 12 counties of KYTC Highway District 1 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.