A work zone will be established Thursday at US 68 and KY 139 in Trigg County as a contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet begins work to construct an R-Cut at the intersection, also known as a J-turn.
An R-Cut will require through traffic on KY 139 to make a right turn onto 68, then use a median turn lane to make what is essentially a controlled U-turn before turning right to travel through the intersection.
Officials say while the R-Cut design adds a few extra seconds of travel time, it cuts the number of traffic conflict points in half and helps drivers to divide their decision-making process into several smaller bites to improve safety. Studies of existing R-Cut installations show crash reductions of up to 54 percent.
The Transportation cabinet design team reviewed 15 years of crash data for the site prior to the most recent fatality crash. Including that period, the U.S. 68/KY 139 intersection has had 32 police-reported crashes that included four fatalities and 11 injuries.
The project will start with work zone signage and pavement markings on Thursday. On Friday, the contractor will add a traffic shift to establish two-way traffic on U.S. 68 in the work zone.
This traffic shift is to facilitate the construction of curbing, drainage features, and the controlled U-turn crossovers along U.S. 68 for each end of the R-Cut.
Construction of the R-Cut is expected to take about 12 weeks to complete.