Road closures extended as Louisville Water Company project experiences delays

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville Water Company project is dealing with delays, which is keeping busy roads tied up with construction.

The water company started phase three of the Eastern Parkway project at the beginning of the summer, replacing one of the oldest and largest water mains in its system.

"It's been a challenge," said Kelley Dearing Smith, vice president of communications for the Louisville Water Company. "It's been much more difficult than we thought it would be."

To keep roadways from being ripped up entirely during the work, the water company has been slip-lining a slightly smaller pipe into the old pipe and pushing it through. The process allows for "push pits" along the edges of roads.

"You can't order the new pipe until you clean the old pipe, because you have to make sure the dimensions are just the right size," Dearing Smith said.

Stilz Avenue has been closed for several months, and Lexington Road is down to just two lanes of traffic. Unfortunately, the water company said things will stay that way for a while.

"It's taken us much longer to clean out the pipe on Stilz and Lexington than we originally thought, and so that's the reason for the delay," Dearing Smith said.

Lanes on Lexington Road will be reduced until January. The company thought it would have Stilz Avenue open by now, but the closure has been extended.

Lexington Road Water Company Project — The massive, more than 100-year-old water main required more cleaning than expected, pushing back the project.

"Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be mid-November, maybe the end of November," Dearing Smith said. "We've cleaned out the pipe, and now we're starting to push that new pipe in, but we still have a lot of work to do inside that pipe."

Dearing Smith said the overall project is still on pace to be finished by early summer 2020.

The road closures have had a ripple effect on the surrounding neighborhood, since Stilz is a popular cut-through from Frankfort Avenue to Lexington Road.

Now, drivers are using Pleasantview Avenue as a cut-through. Neighbors say the volume of drivers has increased, particularly during rush hour. They say they see drivers speeding between 40 and 50 mph down their street with a 25 mph speed limit.

"All I want is for people to just be thoughtful or respectful. We have a lot of kids around here," Jennifer Barker said. "If I'm loading myself or my child in my car, please don't honk at me because you're late to work and flying down basically a subdivision street."

Speed bumps have been installed along the street, and an Louisville Metro Police Department electronic sign is now in place. Neighbors say they are helping some but not quite enough and are begging people to slow down and stay alert.

"Please slow down," Eric Schneeberger said. "Don't look at your phone when you go down a neighborhood street. Pay attention to what's going on in front of you."

The Louisville Water Company is echoing that message.

"If you drive in that area, treat it like it's your own street," Dearing Smith said. "Just be respectful and really be safe."

The water company will be hosting an informal meeting from 6-7 p.m. Thursday at the base of the Crescent Hill Reservoir located near 201 Reservoir Ave. Neighbors can come have their questions answered and concerns addressed. There will be no formal presentation.