Crews install 4.5 miles of median on busy stretch of Dixie Highway

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The work to make Dixie Highway safer has shifted gears.

Last week, crews started work on a portion of the New Dixie Highway Project that will prevent drivers from making some illegal turns.

Crews are installing medians on a 4.5-mile stretch of the notoriously dangerous road.

The first section of the median work started on Dixie Highway at Heaton Road. The work will eventually move south to Upper Hunters Trace.

But Sam Kurdi, who owns Royal Motors at the corner of Dixie Highway and San Jose Avenue, is feeling the effects of all that construction.

"It is tough, especially with the construction that's going on right now," Kurdi said.

The work is expected to improve traffic flow, but for now, it's not very convenient for some of the businesses that line Dixie Highway.

"Every week or maybe ten days, there's an accident," Kurdi said.

Kurdi said getting to his business can be a challenge for customers in the southbound lanes. 

"When people try to turn left and the traffic coming up so heavily, that's where many accidents happen," he said.

There are lines on the road, but they don't always work. 

"Putting in these medians, access management is what we call this, should reduce the number of accidents by about 30 percent," Project Manager John Callihan said.

New Dixie Highway Project Rendering

Callihan said the crews and equipment might be adding to the traffic problems now, but it will get better and safer.

"It's been very, a very dangerous roadway, and this will certainly improve the safety," Callihan said.

The medians are being installed to prevent mid-block left turns.

"Left turns will only be allowed at major intersections," Callihan said.

The New Dixie Highway Project broke ground in 2017. Callihan said this portion of the project puts crews on dangerous ground. 

"We've been working on the outside of the roadway, which is dangerous enough, but now the workers are right there in the middle," he said. "So it's probably the most dangerous time for workers and the traveling public."

And that's why Kurdi's customers all leave with an important message.

"We always tell them when they turn onto Dixie Highway just be very careful with your turn," he said.

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