OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new Interstate 71 interchange in Oldham County will cut down on traffic problems, which is good news for drivers.
But it's a major relief for one family, who worried they'd lose their home to the construction.
Jake Campbell and his family live in a home right next to I-71, and their house was on the chopping block in one of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's designs to build a new interchange at mile marker 20, between Buckner and La Grange.
"We have no intention of leaving and never have," said Campbell, who didn't think they could remain in the home for long. "I know it stressed my wife out a lot. I didn't sleep well."
Highway planners recently narrowed their design options from four to one, and the picked the option that spares the Campbell's home.
"It is one that has minimal impacts to the subdivision that's adjacent," KYTC Spokeswoman Andrea Clifford said.
The plan has a partial cloverleaf for northbound traffic, with regular ramps for drivers headed south.
"There will be some minor right-of-way, some easements, maybe small strips of property that have to be purchased," Clifford said. "But there will not be any relocations, by that meaning we won't have to totally take someone's home in the process."
The plan still needs final approval at the federal level, but the Campbells have a good feeling.
"Pretty positive. We were told that normally federal follows what state recommends, so hopefully everything works out and we move forward," he said.
Construction could start as soon as next summer.
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