Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

April 20, 2010

Highway improvement spring season kicks off

By Rob Ginter - Staff Writer CNHI

April 20, 2010 —     Drivers should be on the lookout for cones and barrels throughout the state this spring as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet kicks off the road improvement season in Rowan and surrounding counties.

    Each week, highway crews in those counties began roadwork such as patching potholes, cleaning ditches, rebuilding bridges, installing drainage pipes, repairing traffic signs and signals, mowing right-of-way and performing other important highway maintenance work last Monday, according to Department of Transportation District Nine spokesman Allen Blair.

    The Transportation Cabinet reminds motorists to stay alert for crews working on roads, take it slow and drive safely in all work zones, transportation, Blair said.

    Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 has these projects in Rowan County this year including KY 799 in Rowan County, mowing along I-64 in April and along major state routes beginning in May with routes being mowed approximately three times a year, Blair said.

    Highway construction at Second Street and KY 32 in Morehead, which could include lane closures and detours later this year, Blair said.

    The Transportation Cabinet will be doing major resurfacing on projects taking place in Bath County: nearly 6 miles of US 60 (Owingsville-Morehead Road) and just over a mile of US 60 (Morehead Bypass) downtown. Those projects are in addition to rural secondary paving scheduled in all counties, he said.

    The transportation department kicked off the spring season with Work Zone Safety Week that was held last week.

    “We want to impress on people the need to be safe not only for our workers sake but also for their sake,” Blair said. “It’s a very dangerous situation out here and we just want everyone to be safe.”

    “Our efforts are to slow down the public in work zones,” Allen Ravenscraft said. “We’ve got a sign that is part of our campaign that says ‘please slow down, my dad works here’ and we also have one that says ‘my mom works here’. We hope that gets people’s attention to back off their speed a little bit. In a lot of work zones we do drop the speed limit normally by 10 to 15 miles an hour but in a lot of maintenance work zones the speed limit is not dropped.”

    Officials offer these tips to motorists:

1. Expect the unexpected.

2. Slow down.

3. Don’t tailgate. Keep a safe distance between vehicles.

4. Keep a safe distance between construction workers and equipment.

5. Pay attention to the signs.

6. Obey road crew flaggers.

7. Stay alert and minimize distractions.

8. Keep up with the traffic flow.

9. Schedule enough time and call 511 or go to www.511.ky.gov for Kentucky traffic and travel information.

10. Be patient and stay calm.