A First-of-its-Kind Safety Solution in Kentucky

Gresham Smith is helping the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) deliver a project that reconfigures four signalized intersections into turbo roundabouts, a first-of-its-kind solution for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A turbo roundabout is a multi-lane roundabout with lane dividers between the circulating lanes to discourage lane changing during circulation. For the community of Draffenville, the project aims to improve safety while also reducing intersection delay and overall corridor travel time. Gresham Smith led a microsimulation traffic study to help KYTC select design details at the four intersections as well as typical sections for the length of corridor between the four intersections.

The corridor, which is a four-lane, divided arterial with a mountable median, links the community to the I-69 interchange while also serving as a connector for regional traffic to the recreational offerings of Kentucky Lake. The innovative design includes the intersection reconfigurations, replacement of the existing mountable median with a flush two-way left-turn lane and incorporation of access control measures. The ultimate build-out will dramatically improve the safety and function of this artery to better serve both the local community and the influx of visitors the community sees during the lake season.