A contractor for The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans a temporary overnight detour and traffic shift for EASTBOUND traffic along Interstate 24 at the Exit 25 Purchase Parkway Interchange during the overnight hours of Thursday, October 13, 2016. Starting at 10 p.m., on Thursday, the EASTBOUND lanes of I-24 will be closed between Exit 25 and Exit 27. During the closure, EASTBOUND traffic will be detoured via the Purchase Parkway northbound to US 62 eastbound to reconnect to the eastbound lanes of I-24 at Exit 27. Message boards will be set up to direct traffic along the temporary detour and law enforcement will be on site to provide assistance. The contractor will use the overnight detour to complete final connections and traffic control for a long-term traffic diversion along the I-24 eastbound lanes through the work zone. Motorists who normally travel the Purchase Parkway and US 62 in the immediate Calvert City area should be prepared to encounter heavier than normal traffic volume while the temporary detour is in place Thursday night into Friday morning. Eastbound I-24 traffic will be shifted to the diversion at a point immediately east of the I-24/Purchase Parkway Exit 25 interchange starting around 5 a.m., CDT, on Friday. This diversion runs along the former westbound lanes to just west of the US 62 Exit 27 Interchange at Calvert City where eastbound traffic moves back to the main line of I-24. Motorists should use extra caution and be prepared to encounter changes in traffic flow this long-term diversion will create through the work zone. This will be similar to the westbound traffic long-term diversion executed in this work zone last week. This work zone along I-24 in Marshall County between the 25 and 27 mile marker is to allow the I-24/Purchase Parkway Interchange to be upgraded so I-69 can be extended southward along the parkway in the future. This work zone includes a 55 mile per hour speed limit with an enhanced enforcement presence and double fines for citations. This work zone has a high level of ongoing construction activity. Appropriate caution is required. Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the prime contractor on the $37.8 million interchange reconstruction project. The new I-24/I-69 interchange at Calvert City has a target completion date of July 1, 2018. All work schedules are subject to change due to weather, emergencies, and other factors. Dial 511, log on to 511.ky.gov or download the WAZE app for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Timely traffic advisories for the 12 counties of KYTC Highway District 1 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1<http://www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1<http://www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1%3chttp:/www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1<http://www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1%3chttp:/www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1%3chttp:/www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1%3chttp:/www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict1>>>. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
