‘A long time coming’ Widening of last section of Clays Mill Road begins. Find out where.
Construction will begin in the coming weeks to widen the final 4-mile section of Clays Mill Road, from New Circle Road to Harrodsburg Road.
“Today is an exciting day. It’s been a long time coming,” said Mayor Linda Gorton at a press conference Thursday announcing the start of the last but most difficult phase of the long-gestating Clays Mill Road widening project.
Some of the updates will include a third lane, new bike lanes, new curbs and gutters, updated traffic signals at key intersections, such as Pasadena, Hill N Dale and Rosemont Garden at Lane Allen, and the planting of more than 250 trees.
Doug Burton, director of engineering for the city, said the goal is to have the section from Waco, just inside New Circle Road, to Stratford Drive completed by next year. The section from Stratford to Harrodsburg will be completed by November 2022.
The city first began discussing improvements to the road in the 1980s to address traffic backups and accidents. Planning began in earnest in 1999.
Both Gorton and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman Jennifer Mossotti served on the council when discussions began about the widening of the road in 1999. The controversial project was changed many times to reflect what neighbors wanted, a residential neighborhood corridor, not a four-lane major highway, Mossotti said.
“This project included a public involvement effort unprecedented for a city public works project, which resulted in key amenities, such as landscaping and bicycle lanes,” said Mossotti, who represents part of the area that has already been widened.
The road is currently widened for a section from Twain Ridge Road to Waco Drive, just past New Circle Road. Construction on that 3.7-mile section started in 2011 and was completed in 2016. It cost a little over $11.6 million.
The current 4-mile section will cost $10.7 million to widen.
Gorton said the project is important to the neighborhoods surrounding Clays Mill.
“It has been a long process, and we appreciate the neighbors, who have been very patient,” Gorton said. “It’s great to get the final phase underway.”
Councilwoman Amanda Bledsoe represents neighborhoods in areas where part of the 4-mile section will be widened. Bledsoe said the road is well used by all Lexington drivers, not just her constituents.
“Everyone who utilizes this important corridor will benefit from these improvements,” said Bledsoe. “Whether you’re dropping your kids off at one of the many excellent schools along Clays Mill Road, riding your bike to Southland Drive, or even commuting downtown, the widening project will provide safer travel with less traffic congestion for everyone. Lexington’s traffic issues are not going away any time soon, but with smart projects like this one, we can transform our corridors to be safer and more efficient for all types of transportation.”
Two-way traffic will be maintained during construction, but Bledsoe urged motorists to avoid the area if they can during construction.
Burton said the project includes several drainage and water quality improvements to keep trash and sediment out of Wolf Run Creek. A section of the road will be closed when a new culvert adjacent to South Bend Drive will be installed. There may also be temporary road closures from time to time to move equipment, city officials said.
When there is a firm construction schedule, the city will alert neighborhoods and three schools on that section of road — Lexington Catholic High School, Clays Mill Elementary School and Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. The school entrances will be maintained during construction, city officials said.
Rapid development in that area necessitated the road widening project. Transportation planners estimate about 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles travel the road between Harrodsburg and Nicholasville Road each day. At one point, there was also a large number of traffic accidents in that area — largely rear-end collisions, city transportation engineers have said.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 3:27 PM.
