PADUCAH, Ky. (August 24, 2020) — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans an estimated 7-hour detour for westbound traffic along Interstate 24 in an extended work zone between the 65 and 56 mile marker in Kentucky on Wednesday evening, August 26, 2020.
Westbound motorists on I-24 should be prepared to encounter a temporary detour starting sometime around 6 p.m., CDT, Wednesday, at the U.S. 68 Cadiz Exit 65 Interchange.
This temporary westbound detour for I-24 is to allow extensive pavement patching and shoulder repairs along the extended one-lane work zone.
During this 7-hour closure of I-24 westbound traffic there will be a marked detour along U.S. 68 West to KY 139 North through downtown Cadiz to return to I-24 at the Cadiz-Princeton Exit 56 interchange. Motorists traveling U.S. 68 near the Exit 65 Interchange should be prepared to encounter delays as flaggers will be controlling traffic to allow vehicles exiting I-24 to access U.S. 68 West.
The Transportation Cabinet is recommending an alternate route for westbound traffic by continuing westbound on U.S. 68 to the I-69 Exit 47 Draffenville Interchange to follow I-69 North to return to I-24 at the Exit 25 interchange near Calvert City. This will allow motorists to avoid traffic backups along the main detour.
This temporary detour is expected to be in place from approximately 6 p.m., CDT, Wednesday, to about 1 a.m., Thursday.
Oversized loads will be directed to pull over and wait for the work to be completed as overweight and over-dimensional loads will not be allowed along the detour via U.S. 68 and KY 139. KY 276 is not an approved detour and will be open to local traffic only.
As a reminder for trucks, there is a strict 12 ft. maximum load width for eastbound I-24 in the work zone. There is a strict 15 ft. maximum load width for westbound traffic in the work zone.
There should be minimal impact to eastbound traffic along I-24 during this closure and temporary detour of westbound traffic.
This extended work zone through parts of Lyon, Caldwell, and Trigg counties between the 52 and 65 mile marker includes two-way traffic running on the westbound lanes with a centerline barrier wall and a strictly-enforced 55 mile per hour speed limit. More than 22,000 vehicles travel this section of Interstate 24 in an average day.
Hall Contracting of Kentucky is the prime contractor on this $28,090,000 highway improvement project. The project includes major rehabilitation work along the eastbound lanes of I-24 from the 52 to 65-mile marker.
Once reconstruction of the eastbound driving surface is complete, additional concrete pavement repairs are planned along westbound lanes. The target completion date for all work is May 15, 2021.
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.
Navigate traffic at goky.ky.gov, at waze.com, or with the WAZE App.