Updated: Dozens of traffic accidents reported in Lexington. New Circle Road reopens
There were reports of heavy traffic and dozens of collisions across Lexington Tuesday morning due to slick conditions, and at least one heavily trafficked area was “at a complete stop” early in the morning, according to Lexington traffic officials.
Lexington police officers responded to 79 weather-related traffic reports between 3 a.m. and 12 p.m. Tuesday, according to Lt. Samantha Moore. There were six injury collisions, 53 non-injury collisions, 12 reports of motorists in need of assistance and eight reports of traffic hazards.
Two tractor-trailers overturned on I-75, Moore said. One happened at mile-marker 111 in the northbound lanes of the interstate and the other happened in the I-75 southbound lanes at the northern split.
The tractor-trailer that overturned at mile-marker 111 struck an unoccupied Lexington police cruiser, according to Moore. No injuries were reported from that collision.
The tractor-trailer that overturned at the northern split had a large amount of diesel fuel spill on the road. Officials cleaned up the scene Tuesday morning and the road had reopened by noon, Moore said.
None of the six injury collisions involved serious injuries, according to Moore.
Susan Straub, a spokesperson for the city of Lexington, said the weather event did not come as a surprise. Straub said the city’s evening street sweeper crew called in concerns about road conditions around 2 a.m. and crews started responding within an hour.
Straub said state maintenance crews treat New Circle Road and the interstate. Their work began at approximately 4 a.m., according to Straub.
“This was often related to bridges icing before roadways. Bridge approaches were fine, not the bridges themselves,” Straub said.
There were multiple collisions on I-75, particularly near mile-marker 113, according to the Lexington Traffic Management Center.
The inner loop of New Circle Road near Nicholasville Road was backed up after early reports of slick spots on the road. At one point in the morning, the road was shut down between Nicholasville Road and Harrodsburg Road. The right lane of that corridor reopened at 7:30 a.m. and the road fully reopened at 10:30 a.m., according to the traffic management center.
The inner loop of New Circle Road at Versailles Road was also shut down around 9 a.m., according to the traffic management center. It reopened about 45 minutes later.
The traffic management center also said that there could be other sections of New Circle Road shut down due to hazardous road conditions.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s traffic map showed multiple collisions and multiple reports of slick spots across Lexington Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the cities of Lexington, Georgetown, Nicholasville, Richmond, Versailles and Winchester Tuesday morning. The advisory expired at 9 a.m. The NWS said black ice and hazardous conditions will affect the morning commute.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 7:23 AM.
