By TIM PRESTON
CATLETTSBURG — The flow of traffic has returned to a near-normal pattern on Interstate 64 in Boyd County following an embankment slide in September and repairs adjacent to the highway.
Contractors eliminated a “crossover” Thursday morning just west of the U.S. 23 interchange near Exit 191, rerouting all westbound traffic back onto westbound lanes.
Motorists, however, should note that eastbound traffic will remain restricted to one lane until all barricades are removed and lanes markings repainted.
“Our goal is to have that completed by mid-day Tuesday — weather permitting,” said Allen Blair, spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Highways District 9.
Once that work is finished, all four lanes will reopen. The changes come several weeks ahead of schedule, and just in time for holiday travelers.
“We’re just pleased to announce this,” said Blair, adding the repair work was assisted by cooperative weather and workers who wanted to get the job done before winter conditions set in.
Blair said highway crews were able to install a better grade of rock to support the highway and make improvements to the ground supporting the road.
In late September, westbound I-64 was closed and traffic rerouted to the eastbound side when a nearby embankment failure progressed into the roadway. Contractors had already been working at the scene since August to stabilize the embankment as part of a $20 million highway improvement project along seven miles of the interstate. The improvement project between the 184 and 191 mile markers includes traffic restrictions one mile east of the Ky. 180 interchange at Cannonsburg (Exit 185), where all eastbound traffic is shifted to one lane to safely pass a work area.
Overall, the highway project is an important interstate rehabilitation effort that will upgrade the highway’s surface, drainage, guardrail, embankments, culverts and bridges from the Big Sandy River bridge to just west of Cannonsburg, Blair said. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded a $20,127,064 contract to Mountain Enterprises Inc. for the work.
Embankment and bridge repairs will continue through winter, with general roadway work and paving operations following next spring. The project is expected to be complete by November 2010.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2651.
