The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is in the design phase of a project to improve traffic flow at the Interstate 65/KY 480 interchange in Bullitt County. This project will improve access to existing and committed businesses in the Cedar Grove Business Park and surrounding area. The project team reviewed several interchange types and have reduced the options to 2 alternatives.
The first alternate is a Double Crossover Diamond (DCD) interchange. The concept of a DCD interchange is to allow the two directions of traffic on the crossroad to temporarily divide and cross to the opposite side to gain access to and from the freeway more easily. A DCD features two-phase traffic signals that typically allow more traffic to flow through the interchange, and fewer conflict points contribute to a reduced number of crashes.
The second alternate is a hybrid of the Texas U-Turn interchange. The Texas U-Turn interchange designs are frequently used on freeways flanked by one-way frontage roads. At freeway interchanges, exiting ramp traffic that desires to access the frontage road on the opposite side of the freeway is routed under the bridge without crossing the opposing traffic on the crossroad - essentially a U-turn movement positioned tight against the bridge abutment. This type of design eliminates several traffic conflict points common with more traditional interchange designs. For the KY 480 interchange, the normal Texas U-Turn design is modified to address the heavy southbound to eastbound ramp movement.
A public meeting was held on Thursday, June 2, 2016 to present this information to area residents and motorists. Approximately 150 people attended this meeting at the Paroquet Springs Conference Centre in Shepherdsville.
The public meeting displays, handouts and questionnaire are provided to the right under Supporting Documents.
Videos of the traffic simulations shown at the public meeting can be found on our YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/user/KYTCDistrict5 .
PROJECT UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2016
The project team met in August 2016 to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed alternatives and to review comments from the public meeting held on June 2, 2016. Taking all of this information into consideration, the project team chose the
Double Crossover Diamond (DCD) as the preferred alternative for improvement at the I-65/KY 480 interchange. This alternate was chosen for the following reasons:
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It provides a more balanced improvement to the KY 480 signalized intersections on each side of I-65. The two-phased traffic signals provide better coordination with the other traffic signals in the KY 480 corridor.
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Both entrance ramps to I-65 are free-flow ramps. Crossed-over traffic does not have to wait at a traffic signal to enter I-65.
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Analysis shows that traffic will not back up onto I-65.
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It has the greatest potential to serve any future development in the KY 480 area west of I-65.
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There was a concern with the other alternative that during construction of its retaining wall under I-65, some of the interstate lanes would have to be closed to remove vehicle loads.
The environmental document for this project will be finalized this fall and final design is scheduled to begin in December 2016. The current highway plan contains funding for the future phases of right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction. No timeline has been established yet for these phases.
Please contact the project manager, Chuck Berger, if you have any questions (502-210-5411 or
chuck.berger@ky.gov ).
