LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Due to the novel coronavirus, more people are staying and working at home, leading to less traffic on the roads.
Louisville Metro Public Works said due to that decrease in daily traffic, crews are able to work longer hours on paving projects and other roadwork. Fewer cars also means a relatively safer work zone.Â
Salvador Melendez, communications specialist for the department of public works, said all road projects underway are projects that were scheduled months in advance. However, the decrease in traffic from COVID-19 is allowing crews to complete more projects than usual.Â
Melendez said crews practice social distancing, wear proper personal protective equipment and follow sanitation guidelines.Â
At the state level, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said projects are continuing on schedule. KYTC started work on three bridge projects Monday.
"Our guys are still out working," said Stephanie Caros with KYTC District 5. "They are essential to making sure our roads are safe and taken care of."
This lighter traffic flow is allowing the final surfacing on the New Dixie Highway Project to be done more during the daylight hours instead of the original plan to primarily work at night. In turn, officials said this should improve the quality of the work, since crews can see imperfections easier when it's light out.
Road work is also continuing in Indiana.Â
Natalie Garrett with the Indiana Department of Transportation said crews have been able to have additional road closures due to the drop in traffic.
"The INDOT commissioner announced last week that we had a drop of about 41% of traffic on state roads in Indiana as a whole, so that gives us a little bit of an opportunity to get a little more maintenance work done, hopefully a little bit safer for our crews as well with less traffic," she said.Â
For those on the road, all departments want to remind people to drive with safety in mind.
"Something I think is important for people as there is less traffic on the road is to really drive safe," Caros said. "Because one thing we can also do to help flatten the curve of COVID is to not put any additional strain and stress on our medical staff. So I know that the Office of Highway Safety is really encouraging folks, as always, to really drive safely, but that's just one added benefit of doing so."
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