Roundabouts are coming to Leitchfield.
Brad Bottoms, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 4 Chief Engineer, told Grayson County Fiscal Court that up to four roundabouts are currently planned to be installed at intersections in Leitchfield.
“Roundabouts, based on our experience, nationwide experience plus what we’ve seen just in E-town and in our (11 county) area, have about an 80 (to) 85 percent reduction in injury accidents over a signalized intersection … They are an effective safety devices, they move traffic very well,” Bottoms told magistrates.
The first roundabout to be installed, according to Bottoms, will likely be at the intersection of the William Thomason Byway and Mill Street (U.S. 62).
“That may be done by the end of the year,” Bottoms said.
There are also roundabouts slated, at this point, for the intersection of the byway and Salt River Road, and the byway and Grayson Springs Road. Both of those intersections have experienced multiple injury and fatality accidents, particularly the intersection of the byway and Salt River Road.
Additionally, when the byway extension project is complete, a roundabout will be installed at the intersection of the extended byway and U.S. 62 (Beaver Dam Rd.).
“The intersection of the new bypass and U.S. 62 will be a roundabout is what our current design is. That’s part of the plan now,” Bottoms said.
The roundabouts are state-funded projects dependent on prioritized budget spending.
The first roundabout in the U.S. (they’ve been a traffic control device in the United Kingdom since 1966) was installed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1990. As of 2022, there were estimated to be 10,000 roundabouts in the U.S.
To learn more about roundabouts, click here.
(Photo: Roundabout during afternoon rush hour, courtesy of Getty Images via AARP.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
