Plans to improve U.S. 25W in Corbin discussed at Tuesday meeting

Beginning with a blank slate, Ky. Transportation Cabinet officials and members of the community are working to come up with a plan for the widening of U.S. 25W between Fifth Street Road and the Corbin bypass.

The community advisory group held its first meeting Tuesday at city hall in Corbin to help develop the plan to improve traffic flow and safety on the 2.2 mile stretch of highway, by adding additional lanes and improving access points. In addition, planners hope to make the area better suited to future economic growth.

Phillip Howard, the project manager, said this is the first step in the $11.86 million project, on which actual construction is tentatively slated to begin in 2017.

Howard noted that a 2011 traffic survey indicated that more than 19,000 vehicles use U.S. 25W between the bypass and Interstate 75 and approximately 12,000 vehicles use the road between the interstate and Fifth Street Road.

“At peek traffic hours we see back up and delays along with a number of crashes,” Howard said, noting 268 crashes were reported along that stretch.

“There are 88 access points along that stretch of highway,” Howard pointed out. “That is a lot for a two-lane highway.”

Howard added that the plans will not just improve traffic in the near term, but will be designed with a useful life of at least 25 years.

Howard said there are other factors to take into consideration with the design, including upcoming and possible future improvements to I-75.

Work will soon begin on the widening of the exit ramps in an effort to improve traffic flow to The Arena and eliminate backups that have reached into the traffic lanes on the interstate.

Transportation officials said plans to add an additional traffic lane in each direction of I-75 have been drawn up but there is nothing in the works to move forward at this time.

Howard noted if/when that project moves forward, it will necessitate construction on the overpass bridges at exit 25.

However, the U.S. 25W improvement project requires designers to stay within the bounds of the existing space under those bridges.

“We have enough room for five lanes under the bridges,” Howard said.

Members of the group were welcome and encouraged to leave comments about the project with the transportation cabinet.

Howard said in the coming days, there will be a site on the transportation cabinet’s district 11 website for the public to leave comments or ask questions about the project.

The website is http://transportation.ky.gov/district-11/Pages/default.aspx

The next meeting of the group has not yet been scheduled. Jonathon Dobson, a spokesperson for the transportation cabinet in Manchester, emphasized that the meetings are open to the public.

Local officials in attendance Tuesday voiced their support for the project.

“I’m very excited to know this process has gone this far,” said Corbin City Manager Marlon Sams, who attended the meeting. “It will be beneficial to the property owners and eliminate a lot of safety concerns.”