Diamond Grinding along U.S. 641 Through Downtown Benton starting Thursday, Dec. 2

Work to take about a week to complete

PADUCAH, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2021)  — A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans diamond grinding along U.S. 641 through downtown Benton starting Thursday, December 2, 2021.

This work zone along U.S. 641 runs from mile point 7.98 near the Town Creek Bridge extending northward through downtown Benton to mile point 8.824 at the KY 348/5th Street intersection, a distance of about 8/10ths of a mile.  It includes all of the one-way sections along Main Street and Poplar Street in Benton.

Diamond grinding is to smooth the driving surface on the concrete pavement sections through the downtown area.  There will be no daytime on-street parking in areas with diamond grinding activity.

The work is expected to take about a week to complete, weather permitting.

This final round of work is expected to finish out most of the U.S. 641 construction project through Benton.  However, the contractor will return in the spring for some landscaping and other minor corrective work.

The reconstruction of U.S. 641 through downtown Benton had to be extended earlier this year when engineers determined there was an insufficient gravel base under several sections of the roadway in the work zone.  The target completion date was moved to this fall to allow placement of reinforced concrete pavement along the areas with base issues.  The diamond grinding completes that extra work.

Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the prime contractor on this $3,325,189 highway improvement project.