A contractor for The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) plans to close the westbound entry ramp at the Interstate 24/US 62 Exit 27 Calvert City Interchange starting Wednesday, December 21, 2016.
Work to set up traffic control for closure of the westbound entry ramp from US 62 to Interstate 24 at Calvert City and establish a detour is expected to start about 8:30 a.m., CST, on Wednesday. The ramp closure and detour is to improve traffic flow and enhance safety at the entry to the traffic diversion in the I-24/Purchase Parkway Exit 25 Interchange work zone.
Once the westbound entry ramp from US 62 to I-24 at Exit 27 is closed, traffic seeking to make that connection will be detoured via US 62 westbound to the Purchase Parkway, then southbound where motorists and truckers can use the I-24 Exit 25 westbound entry ramp to enter main line traffic on I-24. This puts the merge point for westbound traffic at the west edge of the work zone beyond the traffic diversion and work zone restrictions.
This is expected to provide a safer transition for merging traffic. Message boards and signage will direct traffic along the one mile detour. This detour for the US 62 Exit 27 westbound entry ramp to I-24 is expected to be in place for about a year.
This work is zone is along I-24 in Marshall County between the 25 and 27 mile marker and along the Purchase Parkway between the 49 and 52 mile marker at the I-24 Exit 25 Interchange. Reconstruction of the interchange is aimed at allowing I-69 to be extended southward along the parkway in the future.
The work zone includes a 55 mile per hour speed limit with an enhanced enforcement presence and double fines for citations. Some of the crossovers and more restricted sections of the parkway have a 45 mile per hour work zone speed limit for safety.
As a reminder, both eastbound and westbound I-24 traffic is running on a diversion through this work zone between I-24 Exit 25 and Exit 27. This construction corridor 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.