Somerset —
The orange barrels at the intersection of Ky. 80 bypass and Ky. 39 in north Somerset probably will restrict traffic flow in the area until the end of November.
Stewart Gilreath, transportation engineer for the Kentucky Department of Highways’ District 8, said work at the intersection is a rehabilitation project. Existing blacktop surface will be replaced with concrete in an effort to eliminate “rutting” caused by heavy vehicles braking at the stoplights.
Rehabilitation will not make major changes in configuration of the intersection. “The northbound turning lane onto Ky. 39 from eastbound Ky. 80 will be extended a little ... otherwise the intersection will be the same,” said Gilreath.
The $1,053,000 project is being done by Bluegrass Contracting Corporation, Lexington. Contract completion date is November 30.
Ky. 80 bypass, officially the Russell S. Dyche Memorial Highway, extends eastward from the Cumberland Parkway at U.S. 27 through northern Somerset to London. It is four lanes to Ky. 461 and then two lanes with passing lanes through Shopville and across the Rockcastle River where it expands to four lanes several miles west of London and I-75.
Built during the 1970s, Ky. 80 bypass took most of the traffic off Ky. 80 that at the time went through downtown Somerset and around Fountain Square to Nancy and Russell Springs. When Lake Cumberland became a weekend magnet for the “Ohio Navy,” downtown Somerset was jammed with cars and boats until the bypass took much of the load.
Ky. 39, a two-lane road with poor sight distances in places, handles traffic for the Pulaski County High School sports complex and then leads north through Nelson Valley to Dabney, Woodstock, Bandy and Crab Orchard.
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