BRYANTSVILLE — Five years after officials began construction to widen U.S. 27 in Garrard County, the entire project should be complete by this fall, according to state transportation authorities.
A portion of the work that has particularly troubled some residents, at U.S. 27 and Rogers Road just south of the Camp Nelson bridge, should be finished in the next few weeks, said Garrard Judge-Executive John Wilson in a Friday telephone interview.
Wilson, who has fielded calls from residents concerned that construction is taking too long, met with state Transportation Cabinet members Thursday to discuss the project. Due to traffic congestion, motorists living in the Bryantsville area have had difficulty pulling out onto U.S. 27 from side roads.
“It’s dangerous the way it is now,” Wilson said.
Workers with the Allen Co. plan to widen the road to four lanes, which will alleviate traffic congestion as well as inconveniences associated with the ongoing construction, according to Wilson and Natasha Lacy, a spokeswoman with the Transportation¿Cabinet’s District 7 office in Lexington.
Even though the construction involves state and federal roads rather than local thoroughfares, Wilson has met with residents concerned about the safety of the barrels used during the construction process.
“The department is in the process of having the striping replaced and the barrels washed to ensure that the appropriate reflectivity is present on all traffic control devices,” Lacy said. “As construction activities progress, barrels will be removed as they become unnecessary.”
Barring unforeseen delays, the entire five-mile long road widening project which also encompasses part of southern Jessamine County will be completed by late summer or early fall, Lacy said. State authorities first broke ground on the project in¿September 2007. The project has taken longer than anticipated because of weather delays as well as issues with relocating utility lines in the construction area, according to Lacy.
