  Austin Hart, District 1 Project Development Branch Manager, talked to students about upcoming roundabout projects in District 1, including tohse along their routes to and from school.
While roundabouts are not new to the state, they will be new to some motorists in Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Highway District 1, in the Paducah region of western Kentucky, as construction on the district’s first projects are set to begin in 2026.
These innovative intersections are designed to improve traffic flow and reduce the number of potential conflict points, with the goal of decreasing crashes and injuries.
“Currently, we don’t have any roundabouts on state highways in our 12-county district,” said Austin Hart, Project Development Branch Manager, and the lead for District 1’s “Roundabout Ready” Initiative. “We have two projects scheduled for construction in 2026 and another 20 in design, expected to be built over the next three to five years.”
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Because roundabouts will be unfamiliar to many local drivers, particularly high school-aged drivers, District 1 highway engineers saw an opportunity to provide targeted education on how to navigate them safely and confidently.
“We wanted to give high school students – primarily juniors – a first look at roundabouts,” Hart said.
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The “Roundabout Ready” events allowed students to practice driving through a scaled-down roundabout using golf carts, with district staff riding along to offer real-time safety tips and guidance, such as when to yield (entering a roundabout) and that vehicles inside the roundabout have the right of way. Students also learned about upcoming roundabout projects they will use daily along their routes to and from school.
District 1 began by partnering with high schools in McCracken and Graves counties, where the first roundabouts are planned.
 Aerial view of the event at Paducah Tilghman High School, Sept. 30, 2025
“We don’t even have any roundabouts nearby, maybe an hour or more away,” Hart added. “This was a great opportunity to make a positive first impression on the next generation of drivers and help them build confidence.”
About 650 students participated from three local schools: Paducah Tilghman High School, McCracken County High School and Graves County High School.
McCracken County High School Assistant Principal Dylan Sonnek said, “Anytime we can offer real-world experience for our students, to gain that experience on how to maneuver roundabouts and be ready when they come, I think that’s a good thing.”
As roundabout construction expands to other counties, District 1 aims to bring the program to even more students and schools.
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Want to see the Roundabout Ready program in action? Check out the link on the left to get an inside look at how the program worked! |
 Written by: Josh Rogers, Office of Project Delivery and Preservation
While not captivating at first glance, bridge preservation and maintenance activities are one of the most crucial activities that KYTC preforms. For hundreds of thousands of motorists in the state, bridges are needed to get where you need to go every day.
Preserving this critical infrastructure includes some basic steps you may not typically think about! Just like a car, our crews actually wash bridges, too.
Bridge washing removes all the salt, chlorides and contaminates that lay on top of the surface of the bridge that can damage the concrete and steel.
After a bridge deck is cleaned -- next up is the concrete sealer.
Concrete sealers are known as the bridge’s first defense, since they provide a protective layer on top of the deck, and that helps prevent future chlorides from contaminating the deck.
Another part of the bridge that someone may not consider, but is very important to the continued health of the structure, are joints.
Joints are engineered spaces to allow for movement of the bridge.
While joints are an important part of the bridge, if they are not working properly, they can allow chlorides and contaminates to directly reach the steel -- advancing deterioration and causing damage to major components of the structure. That's why it's important to replace bridge joints when they aren't working properly.
KYTC's Bridge Maintenance team also prepares "Contract Ready Proposals" for deck overlays. In our state, we typically use latex modified concrete.
Typically, we do concrete overlays when the deck starts to show signs of deterioration, but the bridge could receive an overlay when it's first built.
For some bridge decks, we place epoxy urethane overlays, polyester polymer concrete overlays, and asphalt with a waterproofing membrane. These overlays help protect the existing slab and the bridge from contaminates while providing a smooth riding surface for motorists.
 KYTC also maintains steel structures. This includes repairing steel with new steel sections, bolted on top of the deteriorated sections. These structures also have to be painted, and we have a wide range of colors on bridges throughout the state!
During the life span of a structure, we perform preservation activities to help preserve the good condition so it's safe for everyone to use.
Ensuring our state's bridges are maintained and kept in good condition is a priority for the Cabinet. Our crews are up to the task to ensure our bridges remain safe for all road users across the state!
 New year. New semester. New opportunities to WOW your students!
KEEN presentations are free, and encourage students' interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Our KYTC engineers will come to your classroom with one of a number of presentations and interactive activities your students can participate in!
What can we provide?
Career Fairs: engineers talk to students about a fulfilling career in civil engineering, construction and project development.
Science/Math/Engineering Classes: we have a number of interactive presentations that can be accommodating to any grade level! From surveying, to bridges, to watersheds -- we have something for everyone.
Scouting Badges: we can speak to your troop and assist in meeting the requirements for STEM/engineering focused badges.
Family Science/STEM nights: if you'd like a local professional to talk to your community -- our engineers can setup a booth at your family-focused event.
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