LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet committed $1 million in federal funding to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow along the Bardstown Road/Baxter Avenue Area between Broadway and Eastern Parkway.
Dirk Gowin, transportation division manager with Metro Public Works, said the intersection was one of many flagged in Metro Louisville's 2018 Bardstown/Baxter safety study.
"Not a real surprise to us," he said. "There's a lot of intersections that have safety issues."
That study found there were hundreds of crashes between 2012 and 2017 along Bardstown Road between Broadway and Eastern Parkway. Dozens of those incidents involved pedestrians.
"When you have the lighting configuration that we have out here, combine that with a little bit of alcohol and pedestrians, and we have a lot of crashes out here that we'd like to eliminate," Gowin said.
Some of the things the upcoming Roadway Reallocation project may change include curb extensions, removing reversible lane assignment lights and changing from four lanes to two driving lanes to increase parking spots.
"Much like we have done on Southern Parkway recently, which is a safety improvement that should result in crash reduction of about 25%," Gowin said.
Intersections with unique safety hazards, like at Baxter, Bardstown and Highland, may get their own solutions.
"In this case, we might look at extending a nose out there on the intersection so there is a refuge island in the center and making those crosswalks just cross Baxter and then cross Bardstown instead of crossing them all in one sweep," Gowin said.
KYTC will make the final recommendations and designs.
"It's something we've been requesting for some time," Gowin said.
He believes the designs should be completed around January 2022, with work likely beginning next summer.
Find more information about the 2018 safety study and crash reports HERE.
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