Motorists traveling Interstate 24 through Western Kentucky will face increased
traffic volumes now through mid-April.
Each year I-24 sees a surge of traffic as college students and families from
northern states on Spring Break Head to beach areas along the Gulf Coast and in
Florida.
$B!H(BOn Friday, there is a major surge of traffic along the eastbound lanes of I-24
almost every week. That surge becomes more pronounced along the 93-mile long
corridor starting in mid-March and continuing into April. Spring Break also creates
a surge along the westbound lanes as vacationers return home, mainly on weekends,$B!I(B
said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 & 2 spokesman Keith Todd.
This time period also includes Easter holiday travel. While not as significant as
increased flow traffic during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday driving period,
motorists will notice significantly heavy traffic along the corridor.
The surge is also indicated by increased sales at convenience stores and truck stops
along I-24 through Kentucky. Todd noted that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
does not specifically conduct traffic count studies during holiday periods, so the
surge is difficult to quantify.
$B!H(BThe I-24 Spring Break surge is mainly noticeable to drivers who find the heavier
than normal traffic makes it difficult to use a cruise control even along more rural
sections of the corridor, especially during commuter hours with increased local
traffic,$B!I(B Todd said.
Peak traffic counts along I-24 occur in the Paducah area and near the
Kentucky-Tennessee State Line in the Hopkinsville-Ft. Campbell area. I-24 between
Exit 3 and Exit 16 at Paducah carries peaks out at about 44,546 vehicles in an
average day while the traffic count near the I-24/US 41-Alternate Interchange in
Christian County run about 44,505 vehicles in an average day. Rural areas in
between carry between 16,000 and 30,000 vehicles per day. About 15% of that is truck
traffic.
This year travelers along the I-24 Corridor in Kentucky will encounter a work zone
traffic shift for I-69 Upgrades at the I-24/Purchase Parkway Exit 25 Interchange
near Calvert City. The contractor in this work zone is maintaining 2 lanes of
traffic in each direction. However, the work one does have a traffic shift to a
temporary diversion for both directions and a 55 mile per hour work zone speed
limit.
Motorists will also encounter a lane restriction for joint replacement work on the
I-24 Tennessee River Bridge at milepoint 29.5. Currently this work zone has a
westbound only lane restriction with the likelihood that work will move to the
eastbound lanes in mid to late-April. Motorists can avoid occasional traffic
backups at this work zone by self-detouring along US 62 and KY 453 between Exit 27
and Exit 31.
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>. You do not
have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
Navigate traffic with KYTC at goky.ky.gov and Waze at
www.waze.com<http://www.waze.com/>!