|
veterans memorial parkway 1 (James Mann/jmann@winchestersun.com / November 26, 2012) |
The intersection of Ecton Road (Ky. 1960) and Veterans Memorial Parkway (Ky. 1958) will receive a traffic signal some time after the new year.
“We are working on the design right now,” said Logan Baker, a district traffic engineer with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. “We’re finishing up a few things and should get started on it fairly soon.”
The exact start date isn’t set, but the traffic signal could be in place and operational not long after the new year begins.
“With the weather, it’s hard to say in the winter,” Baker said. “They should be able to start on it by the end of the year and be done within a couple months probably.”
The installation of traffic signals is usually based on traffic volume. The Ecton Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway intersection didn’t meet those requirements, Baker said, but there were enough collisions to warrant a signal.
Since the start of 2009 to last month, 23 accidents have occurred on the Parkway, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Twelve of those accidents occurred at the intersection of Ky. 1960 and Ky. 1958. In comparison, the intersections at Iron Works Road (Ky. 15) and Mount Sterling Road (U.S. 60) have seen just three accidents apiece over the same period.
The Ecton Road and Parkway intersection was recently the site of two accidents in a 24-hour period. Around 6:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Clark County emergency personnel responded to a motor vehicle accident there, and the following morning, emergency crews returned for another accident around 10:30 a.m.
In July, an accident at the intersection sent one person to Clark Regional Medical Center. Another accident was reported in January.
In March 2011, an accident at the intersection claimed the life of Billie L. Wilson, 47, of 11 Hughes Ave., and three others were transported to the hospital after her vehicle was struck in the driver’s door by a vehicle when she attempted to turn from Ecton Road onto the Parkway.
Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. said he and the Clark County Fiscal Court petitioned the state to install a traffic signal at the intersection around 10 years ago but were told the traffic volume wasn’t enough.
“That’s a wide expanse of roadway there (at the intersection),” he said. “It’s deceptive if you’re trying to cross it. I think that’s why we have so many wrecks there. That’s welcome news if they put a signal in there.”
Contact Casey Castle at ccastle@winchestersun.com.
