Roads of Lexington, Kentucky

The roads of Lexington, Kentucky include Interstate 64 and Interstate 75, as their junction is near the city. There are five U.S. highways serving the city. A beltway surrounds central Lexington, while numerous state routes and connector roads fill in the transportation gap. The zero milestone [Zero Milestone Sculpture [http://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!332479!0] ] for Lexington is the intersection of East and West Main Streets and North and South Limestone Streets. A camel sculpture dating to 1926 marks the point for the AAA. *Note- major road construction is on all or most all Lexington-Fayette county roads for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

Interstate highways

*.
*.

Note: Lexington's urban services boundary is adjacent to the junction of I-64 and I-75. The city's downtown, however, is not served by any controlled-access facilities and traffic congestion during rush-hour along the arterial roadways is a relatively significant problem.

US Highways

* is known otherwise as Georgetown Road, Main Street, and Richmond Road.
*, Broadway, Bolivar Street, South Upper Street, South Limestone, and Nicholasville Road.
* is also known as Versailles Road, High and Maxwell Streets, Vine Street/Main Street, Midland Avenue, and Winchester Road.
*.
* is also known as the Leestown Road from the west, then Main Street/Vine Street and finally Richmond Road.

Kentucky State Highways

* around central Lexington. Three-fourths of the highway is limited-access, whereas the remainder is an urban principal arterial.
*.
*.
* is also known as Bryant Road and begins east of I-75 and Man o' War Boulevard.
* is also known as part of Forbes Road.
* (also known as Liberty Road and Todds Road) serves as a connector from central Lexington to the southern suburbs. Both roads are two-lane routes designed in an era when there were expansive farmlands surrounding the highway; they are now entangled with numerous subdivisions. Both are slated for widenening to three-lanes with curbs and sidewalks.
* campus to rural southeast Lexington.

City/County Routes

* Citation Boulevard is a four-lane divided highway that will act as part of a northern arc from US 421 (Leestown Road) to KY 353 (Russell Cave Road).
* Clays Mill Road is a former state route now under city control. Design work for a new interchange on New Circle Road were planned beginning in the early 1980s, however, residential opposition nixed the project before the construction phase Honeycutt, Valarie. "LEXINGTON TO GET $24 MILLION FOR ROADS STATE TO HELP CITY LAUNCH MORE THAN A DOZEN PROJECTS." "Lexington Herald-Leader", 5 Sept. 1986. 10 Jan. 2007.] . Construction on the $4 million diamond interchange was to begin in 1986 Davis, Merlene. "SEVERAL PROJECTS HELPING TO EASE AREA'S TRAFFIC WOES." "Lexington Herald-Leader", 27 Jan. 1985. 10 Jan. 2007.] . The state of Kentucky had agreed to improve Clays Mill Road from Man o' War Boulevard to Pasadena Drive, and later agreed to improve the road from Pasadena Drive to Harrodsburg Road and from the Jessamine County line to Man o' War Boulevard . The project would call for four-lanes north of New Circle and five-lanes to the south .
* Hays Boulevard is a four-lane divided highway with bike lanes and widewalks that connects KY 418 (Athens-Boonesboro Road) to KY 1927 (Todds Road).
* Man o' War Boulevard acts as a southern beltway, however, it is a four-lane urban principal arterial with curbs and sidewalks. This was constructed with state funds but is under city control.
* Polo Club Boulevard is a two and four-lane route that will connect KY 1927 (Todds Road) to KY 1425 to the east of Interstate 75 and Man o' War Boulevard. It is partially completed, with the remaining segments under construction.
* Hume Bedford Pike is a two-lane pike that connects Lexington to Paris.with one of the most scenic routes in the area.

Unbuilt

The East-West Expressway was a primary feature of the "Wilbur Smith Plan of 1962". The interstate-quality highway would have connected the western fringe of downtown to the eastern edge, and have been located between High and Maxwell Streets. cite book | title=Design Plan for Downtown Lexington, Kentucky | publisher=City County Planning Commission | date=1966 ] The plan also included a widened 2nd Street, which would have been a six-lane thoroughfare north of the central business district. Another proposal included a freeway in the Vine Street corridor after the removal of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway tracks. cite book | title=The Lexington Downtown Plan | publisher=Lexington and Fayette County, Kentucky Planning Commission | date=1966 ] The design alternatives included a depressed, at-grade, and elevated highway. Each proposal was discarded as impractical, as each plan included insufficient ramp access, blockage of downtown traffic, and a necessity to renovate adjoining buildings to raise the floor levels.

Trivia

* The new Jefferson Street, High Street, and West Main Street viaduct were completed in late 1980. cite news | title=Traffic! | publisher=Lexington | date=July 1980 | author=Susan White ]
* In 1984, a new $3.5 million project computerized all 230 traffic signals in Fayette County. cite news | title=Lexington's traffic: Just how bad is it? | publisher="Lexington Herald-Leader" | date=1984-04-08 | last=Duke | first=Jacqueline ] It reduced travel time by 20% to 30%.
* Construction began in January 1988 that extended Rose Street from its terminus at Vine to DeWeese and Fourth Street Berman, Michelle. "The road east new business, new life at the other end of Main." 27 Dec. 1987. "Lexington Herald-Leader". 9 Nov. 2006.] . It was extended several years later to Fifth Street. The four-lane extension cost $5.5 million and was completed in 1989. From Main Street north to its terminus, it was named Elm Tree Lane although it is a continuation of Rose Street.
* Many of Lexington's streets and highways were named after horses cite news | last = Goode | first = Kristin | title = Thoroughbred Thoroughfares | pages = 26-31 | publisher = Smiley Pete Publishing | date = 2007-05-00 | accessdate = 2007-05-11 ] .
** Aristides Boulevard was named after the first Kentucky Derby winner in 1875 .
** Bold Bidder Drive was named after the sire of 1979 Kentucky Derby winner Spectacular Bid.
** Citation Boulevard was named after a bay colt bred at the Calumet Farm, who won the 1948 Triple Crown and raced for seven years earning over $1 million .
** Man o' War Boulevard was named after a foal born in 1917 that went on to win all but one of his 21 lifetime races .
** Pink Pigeon Parkway was titled after a seven-time stakes-winning filly .
** Sir Barton Way was named after the first Triple Crown winner in 1919 .
** Star Shoot Parkway was titled after a sire of Sire Barton and 181 other stakes winners .
* Many other streets were named after horse racing tracks that were in the Lexington region. Notable examples include Red Mile Road, which is adjacent to The Red Mile; Race Street; and Turfway Drive, named after a track in Northern Kentucky. Other streets are named after tracks in other parts of the United States; a notable example is Pimlico Parkway, named after the famous track in Baltimore.
* Other roads were named after horse farms, such as Beaumont Centre Parkway, Idle Hour Drive and Overbrook Circle.

References

External links

* [http://www.lexareampo.org/ Official website of Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization]
* [http://www.kytc.state.ky.us/ Official website of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]