New section of Ky. 80 will not open until sometime in spring, Todd reports
By TOM BERRY
Staff Writer
The opening of a half-mile section of the newly constructed Ky. 80 between U.S. 641 North and Brinn Road will not take place until spring.
Questions about what to do about large trucks that may want to use the section along with additional paving, wedging and other construction required to guarantee safety is the cause of the delay, according to Keith Todd, spokesman for the Department of Highway's District One and District Two offices in Paducah.
Bad weather for construction is also a hurtle.
“The way it's set up right now we can't open it to through-traffic and there is no sense in doing that until the rest of the four-lane is built anyway,” Todd said. “We are also concerned about truck traffic going through there and getting stuck on Brinn Road, too. There were about four or five different things that kind of added up, but most of it is the leveling work there at 641.”
Although most of a new section will remain closed, allergy patients of Dr. Richard Stout are allowed access to a 300-foot track of the roadway off 641 to keep their appointments.
Stout's practice may be legally accessed by entering the new section's westbound lane and traveling through to an accessway behind the building to the right.
In the meantime, DOH, Kentucky State Police and Calloway County Sheriff's Department officials are urging drivers not to use the stretch illegally. Drivers have been spotted using the section even with several “Road Closed” signs clearly posted.
Story created Dec 30, 2008 - 10:41:18 EST.
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