The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has a recommendation to make the US 68 – KY 139 intersection in Trigg County safer following recent fatal crashes at that location.
Speaking to Trigg Fiscal Court Monday night, District 1 Chief Engineer Kyle Poat discussed plans for the construction of an R-Cut intersection at the site, sometimes referred to as a J-Turn.
An R-Cut would 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.
Two people were killed and three were injured in an accident January 19 and two were killed and one was injured in a crash at the intersection in November.
Poat said while some additional design work will be required, he anticipates negotiating the addition of the R-Cut to the ongoing design-build construction project along U.S. 68 between Cadiz and Canton. Work is expected to begin sometime this summer and would likely be completed within two to three months.
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