Crews reopen New Circle ramps to busy Lexington road in time for holiday travel
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- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reopened Leestown-New Circle ramps early.
- Project converts New Circle to three lanes each direction and upgrades interchange.
- Construction timeline targets full completion by summer 2027; lane reopenings pending.
The New Circle Road entrance and exit ramps at Leestown Road reopened Sunday evening, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
The ramps were supposed to remain closed until Dec. 5 while crews sped up the widening and interchange reconstruction project that has been ongoing in the area for months. The work was completed ahead of schedule, and drivers are now able to use the ramps to and from Leestown Road for Thanksgiving holiday travel, the transportation cabinet said.
The project is part of a larger push to boost traffic capacity on New Circle Road between Versailles Road and Newtown Pike, converting it to three lanes in both directions.
Construction workers are also converting the Leestown-New Circle Road interchange into a double-crossover diamond, an interchange with two signalized intersections where traffic crosses over to the left side of the roadway, then back to the right as it exits. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027, according to the transportation cabinet.
The project has resulted in a lot of traffic in the Leestown-New Circle Road corridor. On Nov. 9, the New Circle Road entrance and exit ramps were blocked off to expedite the project, but crews were able to open the ramps to right turns a week later, ahead of schedule.
Leestown Road traffic remains one lane each direction in the right lane, with a goal of returning the road to two lanes in each direction by the end of the year. The transportation cabinet said updates on when the left lanes will reopen will be announced as the project progresses.
