Improvements to Begin for Richmond Road Corridor in Fayette County
Intersection work to promote safer, more efficient traffic flow
LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 25, 2025) – Work starts this week on a $13 million Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) highway improvement project to build safer, more efficient intersections along Richmond Road (U.S. 25) and Athens-Boonesboro Road (KY 418) south of Man O’ War Boulevard in Lexington.
Five intersections will be upgraded to Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUTs), which are designed to improve safety and traffic flow. An RCUT is a type of intersection used around the country and across Kentucky that’s proven to reduce crashes and is highly effective for reducing delays.
Intersections that will be converted to RCUTs include those at Yorkshire Boulevard and Squires Road, Ellerslie Park Boulevard and a new Jacobson Park entrance, Hays Boulevard and a new U.S. 25 connector at Aphids Way, at Athens Boonesboro Service Road, and at Brenda Cowan Elementary School. These will be similar to an RCUT that opened last year at Competition Drive near the soccer complex.
Construction starts Thursday and Friday, June 26-27, when contractors will survey, install traffic control and restripe Richmond Road and Athens-Boonesboro Road to shift lanes over so crews can work alongside the highway. Motorists should expect traffic impacts:
- Thursday: Inbound lanes of U.S. 25 and KY 418 between Man O’ War Boulevard and Ashley Woods Road will be restriped. (This includes milepoints 7.8 to 9.7 on Richmond Road and 0 to 1.9 on Athens-Boonesboro Road.)
- Friday: Outbound lanes of U.S. 25 and KY 418 will be restriped in the same area.
- During construction: Two travel lanes will be maintained, but lanes will be narrowed to 10.5 feet wide and the speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph. Temporary alternating single-lane closures will be possible between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. as needed to safely complete the work.
Construction will continue through 2025 and next spring and includes a shared use path and other improvements Work is expected to be complete during the summer of 2026 at which time all traffic will switch to using the RCUT intersections.
Highway engineers began working on Richmond Road corridor improvements several years ago as traffic volumes grew due to residential growth, retail expansion, and a new school and soccer complex, and the area was experiencing heavy traffic congestion and high crash rates at intersections.
The RCUT design, which eliminates left-hand turns from side streets, reduces the number of times vehicles cross paths – or conflict points – at intersections, thereby reducing the likelihood of those severe types of crashes.
In addition, the layout of an RCUT allows for the traffic signal to be operated with only two signal phases. This means that motorists spend less time stopped and waiting for a green signal, promoting freer traffic flow.
Once complete, the RCUT intersections will provide the same traffic movements by accommodating existing main road traffic patterns and establishing a two-stage process for left turns and straight-through movements from the side street. Motorists from side streets turning left or traveling straight across the intersection will turn right to proceed to the custom left turn lane provided to make a U-turn and choose where they want to go.
RCUTs are being incorporated more often in highway projects today to promote a freer and safer traffic flow at intersections, which account for about 45% of all crashes nationwide.
Recent statistics from RCUTs built near Elizabethtown in Hardin County showed injuries were reduced by more than 80 percent. A review of an RCUT installed by KYTC on U.S. 68 in Trigg County has shown a 64.5% decrease in total crashes since the RCUT was completed and a 71% decrease in injuries – exceeding benefits found in a national study, which showed RCUTs reduced crashes by 54% on average.
To learn more about how RCUT intersections work, please visit KYTC’s SAFERoad Solutions website at https://transportation.ky.gov/saferoadsolutions/Pages/RCUT.aspx.
The Richmond Road corridor project is being done by L-M Asphalt Partners LTD D/B/A under a $13,228,293 state contract.
All work and/or closures are scheduled on a tentative basis, and subject to change depending on weather conditions, emergencies and other factors beyond the control of the Department of Highways.
District 7 includes: Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Garrard, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Montgomery, Scott and Woodford Counties
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