PADUCAH, KY (Oct. 22, 2021) – The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans to reduce the speed limit from 55 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour along about a 1-mile section of U.S. 60/Clarks River Road on Paducah’s Southside starting Monday, October 25, 2021.
New 45 mph speed limit signs are expected to go up starting around 10 a.m., Monday, between mile point 17.8 at the Paducah Floodwall extending eastward to mile point 18.6 at the Clarks River Bridge. An oversized “45 MPH Speed Zone Ahead” sign will be placed near the Clarks River Bridge for U.S. 60 traffic inbound to Paducah, with standard-sized speed limit signs along the remainder of the route.
The speed reduction comes after McCracken County Commissioner Bill Bartleman requested a speed study of U.S. 60 from the floodwall to the U.S. 60 crossover near the Ledbetter Bridge following an August 2 crash that resulted in five deaths.
In their study of the U.S. 60 corridor, KYTC District 1 traffic engineers found most vehicles were driving at or below the posted 55 mph speed limit. The study also identified 82 entrances or crossovers between the Paducah Floodwall and Pugh Road, several of which were business parking lots funneling directly onto the driving lane, indicating a lower speed was warranted.
“We found that the number of entrances would create a high number of slow-moving vehicles entering and exiting the roadway. That alone indicated a 45 mph speed limit would be beneficial to allow drivers to more easily react to vehicles pulling into and out of mainline traffic flow,” said KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Kyle Poat.
While the 55 mile per hour speed limit on U.S. 60 will remain the same east of the Clarks River Bridge, Poat noted that a project to be bid in November will create a center turn lane from the bridge extending eastward to near Pugh Road. He anticipates construction would likely start on the project in spring of 2022.
“Replacing the median with a center turn lane will make it easier for trucks to make the turn heading into business and industry entrances along this section of U.S. 60. We anticipate that the drainage work to fill in the median and complete a center turn lane would take about two to three months to complete. Our traffic group would then check traffic speeds in the area to see if a reduced speed limit is warranted for that section,” Poat said.
Approximately 18,500 vehicles travel this section of U.S. 60/Clarks River Road on Paducah’s Southside in an average day. Installation of the new speed limit signs is expected to take about two hours to complete.