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Bluegrass Parkway

Started by hbelkins, September 20, 2018, 01:50:19 PM

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hbelkins

Two things I noted yesterday while driving the Bluegrass Parkway for what seemed to be the millionth time.

One is that it appears the ramp from the eastbound BG to US 31E at Bardstown has been rebuilt. I'm sure I had noticed this before, but it caught my eye yesterday.

Wonder when this was done, and why?

https://goo.gl/maps/jVyWwRvkhuT2

Also, I wonder if the wide median around mile marker 35-36, which is the halfway point of the route, was intended to be a service plaza similar to that on the Western Kentucky Parkway near Beaver Dam?

https://goo.gl/maps/2j3Ap4h1v8C2

Even though this is near the KY 55 exit, it's in a very rural area with no services nearby -- unlike the WK plaza, which is adjacent to an exit at a town.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.


seicer

I think that the original EB exit ramp for US 31E had sight distance issues. I think a traffic signal could have worked, too.

And I always wondered about the service plaza but there are no gradings or even stubs. Kentucky has had diversions put in on other interstates - perhaps to give some variety to the driving experience, so that may have been a reason.

--

From October 27, 1965:


From the article, it also mentioned that the WK Parkway, opened in 1963, had to be rerouted for about a mile in 1965 because of rock slides. I'm unsure of where that was at.

seicer

#2
Isn't this something: the KB Parkway?



--

Ah - it began as the Central Kentucky Turnpike and renamed to the Kentucky Bluegrass Parkway by Gov. Breathitt.

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

The Ghostbuster

Didn't all of Kentucky's Parkways originally have sequential-based exit numbers? Old maps indicated they did. Does anyone know when the parkways had their exit numbers changed to mileage-based?

hbelkins

I have a picture of an old BG Parkway sign (it was taken at the US 421/KY 4 interchange in Lexington) in which you can easily see the old "KB" underneath the BG.

As for exit numbers, the Mountain Parkway did not have exit numbers until the mileage-based numbers were instituted sometime in the mid 1970s. They were designated when the old text-based signs were replaced with signs using route markers.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

hbelkins

Quote from: NE2 on September 20, 2018, 03:37:01 PM
Quote from: seicer on September 20, 2018, 02:49:35 PM
From the article, it also mentioned that the WK Parkway, opened in 1963, had to be rerouted for about a mile in 1965 because of rock slides. I'm unsure of where that was at.

http://spi.uky.edu/documents/10180/24058/1968+Landslides+in+Kentucky.pdf
http://www.google.com/maps/@37.1404652,-87.8148543,3a,31.9y,269.44h,91.29t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUfuc7JfPIgSvkcfiHzHrYA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Trying to figure out what the sign in the background of the picture in Figure 1 of the PDF says.

Those Estill County scenes are familiar to me. KY 89 has been a persistent problem, I remember when the new KY 52 had to be closed and traffic detoured onto the old route. The northwestern part of Estill County in particular has a lot of shale that causes issues. There was movement in the floor of a new middle school because of pyrite in the soil.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

SP Cook

Quote from: seicer on September 20, 2018, 02:59:39 PM
Isn't this something: the KB Parkway?


Is there a more complex signage history than Kentucky's parkways system?

IIRC,

First versions were either rectangles with blue letters on white, with a blue bar at the bottom with white "parkway".  With the addition of "KB" becoming "BG" in that case.   Or substituting gold for the blue in the case of the Audubon.  Or a circle with a pictograph surrounded by words.

Then they added auxiliary signs or "rockers" with politician names in several cases.

Then they replaced the letter signs with white signs with the politician names being the main thing, with the real name being relegated to the blue bar at the bottom.  Except for the Natcher, which got its own totally unique sign. 

Now a sign with two blue bars (in most cases) with the politician name at the top, the real name spelled out in the middle, and Kentucky in a non-standard font at the bottom.

And many are getting renamed now as parts of proto-interstates.

Then there is the old Kentucky Turnpike which had its own totally unique six sided sign, green and yellow with a red cardinal.  And then there is the never a toll road, AA Highway, which uses a sign similar to the original system.

seicer

I am always an advocate for unique shields, like what the Mountain Parkway had, but unless they are backed with legible text, they are useless. No one can make out a trailblazer like the Natcher at high speeds, which is why it's important to have it spelt out next to the shield on guide signs (which Kentucky has done).

There was the Daniel Boone Parkway, too - named now after some politician. And the Cumberland Gap Parkway that's practically invisible.

wriddle082

Quote from: hbelkins on September 20, 2018, 01:50:19 PM
Two things I noted yesterday while driving the Bluegrass Parkway for what seemed to be the millionth time.

One is that it appears the ramp from the eastbound BG to US 31E at Bardstown has been rebuilt. I'm sure I had noticed this before, but it caught my eye yesterday.

Wonder when this was done, and why?

https://goo.gl/maps/jVyWwRvkhuT2

I think this happened in the late 90's, and it was because the original off-ramp began at a right-hand curve in the mainline.  Created issues with the beginning of the ramp being a much sharper curve and several accidents had occurred over the years involving vehicles missing the curve and hitting the rock wall.

Quote from: hbelkins on September 20, 2018, 01:50:19 PM
Also, I wonder if the wide median around mile marker 35-36, which is the halfway point of the route, was intended to be a service plaza similar to that on the Western Kentucky Parkway near Beaver Dam?

https://goo.gl/maps/2j3Ap4h1v8C2

Even though this is near the KY 55 exit, it's in a very rural area with no services nearby -- unlike the WK plaza, which is adjacent to an exit at a town.

I always thought about this as well, as I think it's the only unusually wide median along all of the BG Parkway.  Going westbound I always recognized coming up on this area where it looked like the eastbound lanes were coming from straight ahead while the westbound lanes were about to curve to the right.  Back in the toll days, before I had my license, this meant it was time to dig up $.50 for the driver since the toll plaza was about 3 miles away.  Other than that, I know that the wide median has been the site of many temporary asphalt plants for resurfacing projects over the years.

hbelkins

Quote from: wriddle082 on September 21, 2018, 06:19:42 PMOther than that, I know that the wide median has been the site of many temporary asphalt plants for resurfacing projects over the years.

They have permanent "Truck Crossing" signs installed there, and I have seen cops hiding more than a few times there.

I was in Elizabethtown for a class. I'm taking part in what they call "KYTC 101," which is an overview of the different offices within the agency and what they do. (And yes, I'm learning things I didn't know). This was a visit to a district and the district office. I don't know why they chose E-town over either District 5 (Louisville, which Franklin County is part of) or District 7 (Lexington), as both are closer.

Anyway, about the first six westernmost miles or so of the BG are undergoing a pavement rehab. They're doing some slide correction and drainage updates, but the big thing is that this is going to be a concrete overlay. They're milling the old asphalt and are going to fill with concrete. I wasn't able to tell if they have milled up all the old asphalt or not, to where this concrete will be right on top of the existing original concrete. I don't know if previous paving jobs just laid the asphalt over top of the concrete, or if they broke up the concrete as has been done in later years.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

seicer

I found it interesting that not all of the BG Parkway was concrete - it seemed that the Bardstown and the eastern sections were asphalt. I had assumed Kentucky used concrete almost exclusively during that era.

Captain Jack

#12
If you compare the median on the BG to the service plaza on the WK, it appears to be almost exact. One lane going straight while the other swings out and back. Looks to be the same size as well. My guess is it was in fact designed to have one.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3744484,-86.8273592,1744m/data=!3m1!1e3

I know the accessibility is a little bit of a problem, but I always thought these were a great idea. I remember when the Kentucky Turnpike (I-65) had one with an actual motel with it. Unfortunately, they reconfigured the highway, and tore all of this one out.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluegrass-Lodge-Shepherdsville-Kentucky/372438209082?hash=item56b70c123a:g:Ns4AAOSwqWNY~5J~

I am always amazed at the speed in which Kentucky built these roads. Some went from conception to actual completion in about 5 years or even less. I have found newspaper articles from 1965 discussing site locations for the Pennyrile, and it was open by 1969. Probably even more amazed that they actually kept the promises of removing the tolls when they were paid for. Most states would have kept the revenue generation going.

RoadWarrior56

Along the Western Kentucky Parkway, there is also a similar wide separation immediately east of the Lietchfield exit.  I remember traveling on that parkway since just after it opened, when I was in grade school.  The service area near Beaver Dam was constructed approximately two years after the Parkway opened to traffic.  I figure there were probably long-range plans to construct multiple service areas on both parkways, but only one actually got built, probably due to limited traffic volumes.  There was not a lot of traffic on that road during the 1960's.

One more thing related to the Bluegrass Parkway discussed in an earlier comment in this thread - It was signed as "BG" from the day it opened, not "KB".  We visited my aunt in Elizabethtown often back in the mid 60's, and there were trailblazer signs all over from '65 on that said "BG" Parkway.

hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Captain Jack

Quote from: RoadWarrior56 on September 24, 2018, 10:59:19 AM
Along the Western Kentucky Parkway, there is also a similar wide separation immediately east of the Lietchfield exit.  I remember traveling on that parkway since just after it opened, when I was in grade school.  The service area near Beaver Dam was constructed approximately two years after the Parkway opened to traffic.  I figure there were probably long-range plans to construct multiple service areas on both parkways, but only one actually got built, probably due to limited traffic volumes.  There was not a lot of traffic on that road during the 1960's.

One more thing related to the Bluegrass Parkway discussed in an earlier comment in this thread - It was signed as "BG" from the day it opened, not "KB".  We visited my aunt in Elizabethtown often back in the mid 60's, and there were trailblazer signs all over from '65 on that said "BG" Parkway.

I hadn't noticed the one at Lietchfield. Now that I look at it, there are actually 3 of them along the WK. Without confirming it as fact, they do appear to be about the same distance from each other. The KY State Police occupy the western one, which is just east of the Pennyrile. Not sure if it ever had a service plaza, or just the post.



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