PADUCAH, Ky. (Oct 15, 2019) – A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans to establish a work zone for initial construction of an R-Cut at the U.S. 45/ KY 408 intersection north of Mayfield in Graves County starting Monday, October 19, 2020.
Motorists should be prepared to encounter work zone lane restrictions along U.S. 45 at the KY 408 intersection with the initial round of construction activity along the outside shoulder and right-of-way of U.S. 45. The contractor plans to complete as much work as possible this fall. If weather allows, the contractor could continue work until the R-Cut is completed. However, weather will most likely require the work to halt during the winter months with completion sometime in the spring of 2021.
The installation of the R-Cut is designed to enhance safety at the intersection along U.S. 45 near the Kentucky State Police Post just north of Mayfield.
Using federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding, the project will eventually remove a traffic signal at the intersection and replace it with an R-Cut that has been shown to reduce crashes by about 50 percent.
The R-Cut restricts left turns, then directs traffic to a dedicated turn lane with a modified U-turn (R-Cut). The feature allows drivers to divide the decision to navigate through the intersection into several smaller decisions. It reduces the 36 identifiable conflict points in a normal intersection in half. It also eliminates movements that create the most opportunities for serious crashes,.
The U.S. 45/KY 408 intersection is at Graves County U.S. 45 mile point 25.361 and KY 408 mile point 8.047. Approximately 14,900 vehicles travel through this intersection in an average day.
The contract also includes construction of an R-Cut at the U.S. 45/KY 1288 intersection south of Lone Oak in McCracken County. Due to the proximity of that intersection to Community Christian Academy, the construction of an R-Cut at that location will wait until after school is out in the Spring.
Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the prime contractor on this $1,943,618 Highway Safety Improvement Project. The target completion date for work at both intersections is August 21, 2021.
For more information on how the R-Cut works please go to www.US45Safety.org .