KY: Two US 60/231 intersections near Owensboro to get RCUTs this year

[jnewkirk77]

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will convert two intersections on US 60/231 northeast of Owensboro to RCUTs.  Local media reported the story just hours after the most recent fatality accident at one of the two intersections.

Work is scheduled to begin soon at the intersections with KY 1767/Hawes Blvd. and Wrights Landing Road, with project completion later this year.

The Hawes Blvd. intersection has been the site of numerous injury and fatality accidents since the 60/231 bypass extension opened to traffic a little over a decade ago. The Wrights Landing Road intersection will be the access point for Churchill Downs' new Owensboro Racing & Gaming facility, which is set to open Feb. 12.

Story from the Owensboro Times (may be behind paywall).

PDF of the plans (large download, from KYTC, 271 pages)

[JREwing78]

Two sets of right-turn lanes? That seems nice and confusing. Thought the point of these "superstreet" intersections was to limit the amount of conflict points.

[jnewkirk77]

Two sets of right-turn lanes? That seems nice and confusing. Thought the point of these "superstreet" intersections was to limit the amount of conflict points.

It's hard to do that here because of the existing businesses and keeping access to them.  I'm honestly not sure this is going to resolve the problem, or add more.  I guess we'll soon see.

[kurumi]

Slight derail: the photo in the Owensboro Times article shows a truck with a quad-axle spread trailer (4 axles spread apart) turning onto Route 1767. Are those common in KY? It looks like something you'd see in Ontario.

[jnewkirk77]

Slight derail: the photo in the Owensboro Times article shows a truck with a quad-axle spread trailer (4 axles spread apart) turning onto Route 1767. Are those common in KY? It looks like something you'd see in Ontario.

I have to be honest, it's the first one I've seen. But I have noticed more Canadian and Mexican trucks passing through the area in recent years, so it probably won't be the last!

[JREwing78]

The example in the Owensboro Times article shows side-road traffic having separate lanes for right-then-left turns, and right-turns onto the mainline. I've never seen this deployed in the wild (it adds conflict points that are unnecessary), and thankfully the KYDOT documentaiton shows a more conventional, simpler layout.

The example in the Owensboro Times:



The example from KYDOT:

[jnewkirk77]

The example in the Owensboro Times article shows side-road traffic having separate lanes for right-then-left turns, and right-turns onto the mainline. I've never seen this deployed in the wild (it adds conflict points that are unnecessary), and thankfully the KYDOT documentaiton shows a more conventional, simpler layout.

There is one double-right-turn setup in Owensboro and it is something of a PITA. Almost no one uses it correctly, and I'm shocked there aren't more accidents. It's the eastbound 60 offramp to US 431, which uses the left right turn lane (ugh!) to access Salem Drive at the next intersection to the south.

Unfortunately, I can't show you a completed view, but here was when it was nearly done in the late summer of '23. There's a left-turn lane, the Salem Dr. right-turn lane, and the right-turn lane to 431 SB/Goetz Dr.

[Revive 755]

The example in the Owensboro Times article shows side-road traffic having separate lanes for right-then-left turns, and right-turns onto the mainline. I've never seen this deployed in the wild (it adds conflict points that are unnecessary), and thankfully the KYDOT documentaiton shows a more conventional, simpler layout.

There's kind of a deployment of this setup on US 12 at Mayflower Road west of Niles, MI:
Streetview SB
Streetview NB

[Plutonic Panda]

It seems like a bridge with on and off ramps would be much simpler, even if the cost is higher and the traffic counts don't quite justify it. It would be worth it. Now if people could figure out how to use it right then that wouldn't be necessary.

[seicer]

RCUTs are becoming more popular across the state. Unless a roadway has total control of access, right-of-ways in the state can be cluttered with driveway intersections and cross roads. In the past, KYTC has deployed extended turn lanes, "turbo" acceleration lanes from the median, and traffic signals. Several districts have gotten more aggressive with using RCUTs, either as a retrofit or on new construction; others have gotten more strict with right-of-way management. In the end, the ones I've seen deployed have been easy to navigate.

[JREwing78]

The example in the Owensboro Times article shows side-road traffic having separate lanes for right-then-left turns, and right-turns onto the mainline. I've never seen this deployed in the wild (it adds conflict points that are unnecessary), and thankfully the KYDOT documentaiton shows a more conventional, simpler layout.

There's kind of a deployment of this setup on US 12 at Mayflower Road west of Niles, MI:
Streetview SB
Streetview NB

That's at least a logical configuration; it's pretty obvious that the left-hand right-turn lane lands in the left lane and the right-hand right turn lane lands in the right lane. It's also ultimately one place to look for cars turning from the side road.

[jnewkirk77]

A Daviess County commissioner made news this week for her suggestions to reduce accidents on 60/231.

Janie Marksberry, who represents the county's east district (where I live), told town hall attendees last Tuesday that she thinks the soon-to-be-built RCUTs, will add to congestion.

"I was asking for a traffic light or additional studies," the Messenger-Inquirer reported her as saying. "I was told a traffic light would never work, because when you top the hill going east on that road, you're already traveling between 55 to 60 miles per hour, and it would be nearly impossible to slow down for a light that quickly."

In that area, the speed limit drops from 65 to 55, and most traffic is actually going 65-70+, not the 55 to 60 that Marksberry claims, as they crest the overpass and reach the signs marking the lower limit.

"So my thought is put a flashing caution light before you top the hill, slow the speed down to 45 miles per hour from there until you pass the intersection to Hancock County, and add a traffic light at the entrance/exit to Owensboro Racing and Gaming."

It should be noted here that she'd do nothing at KY 1767, the truck stop intersection where the majority of accidents have happened, including the most recent double-fatality crash. And her reduced speed limit would stretch for nearly five miles.

But Marksberry thinks she's on the right track.

"That could help," she said of her idea. "I predict we will have people coming in from out of town that do not know that road very well, and I think this is something that we need to concentrate on more now than anything else at the moment."

I'm hopeful the other commissioners and judge-executive will bring her down to earth, because cutting the speed limit out here to 45 would be insanity, and doing nothing at the truck stop - where, as I mentioned, most of the accidents actually happen - is even worse.

[Rothman]

In NY, speed limits don't drop on state highways if the characteristics of the road don't call for it.  An elected official dictating speed limits is not a good precedent.

[Bitmapped]

It seems like a bridge with on and off ramps would be much simpler, even if the cost is higher and the traffic counts don't quite justify it. It would be worth it. Now if people could figure out how to use it right then that wouldn't be necessary.

RCUTS can normally be built for 10%-20% of what an interchange would cost. That sort of cost differential is often going to be the difference between if something is done or not.

[jnewkirk77]

From my inbox this morning, via KYTC District 2, comes word that work is beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, Mar. 18), and should be completed by mid-November.
 
RCUT Project to Begin this Week in Daviess County
Project slated to be completed by mid-November
MADISONVILLE, Ky. (March 17, 2025) – A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is scheduled to begin a $3.5 million highway safety project along the U.S. 60 in Daviess County this week that will see the addition of Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUT) at Wright's Landing and Hawes Boulevard.

Scotty's Contracting & Stone, LLC plans to begin the project tomorrow, Tuesday, March 18. The contractor will begin milling and paving operations along the westbound median of the highway at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, which will result in lane restrictions on the westbound side of U.S. 60 through the project area. Lane restrictions will be in place from Monday at 6:30 a.m. until Friday at 3 p.m. There are no planned restrictions over the weekend.

The project is scheduled to be completed by mid-November 2025.

Between March 1, 2020 and March 1, 2025, a total 52 crashes were recorded at the intersections of Wright's Landing and Hawes Boulevard with U.S. 60, including 16 injuries and four fatalities.

This will be the second RCUT in KYTC District 2, with the first beginning construction in Henderson County along the U.S. 41 strip on March 6.

Rather than disrupting or slowing traffic flow along the primary route, as would happen with a traffic signal, RCUTs are specifically designed to allow vehicles on that roadway to continue unimpeded. Vehicles exiting Wright's Landing and Hawes Boulevard onto U.S. 60, however, will follow a different traffic pattern. Instead of going straight across the highway, which forces drivers to cross four lanes of oncoming traffic at a 90-degree angle or crossing two lanes to make a left turn, all drivers will now turn right. Vehicles will then utilize a newly constructed U-turn lane to make a left turn and merge with traffic on U.S. 60.

RCUTs are being incorporated more often in highway projects today to promote a freer and safer traffic flow. A review of a RCUT installed by KYTC on U.S. 68 in Trigg County recently showed 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.