New Circle Road

Last updated
Elongated circle 4.svg
Kentucky Route 4
New Circle Road
New Circle Road
New Circle Road highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length19.283 mi [1]  (31.033 km)
Major junctions
Beltway around Lexington
Major intersectionsUS 27.svg US 27 in Lexington
US 68.svg US 68 in Lexington
US 60.svg US 60 in Lexington
US 421.svg US 421 in Lexington
US 25.svg US 25 in Lexington
Location
Country United States
State Kentucky
Counties Fayette
Highway system
  • Kentucky State Highway System
← Elongated circle 3.svg KY 3 → Elongated circle 5.svg KY 5

New Circle Road, also known as Kentucky Route 4, is a Kentucky state highway that serves as an inner beltway around Lexington, which is part of the consolidated city-county government with Fayette County.

Contents

The state designates the start and finish of the road at its interchange with Nicholasville Road on the city's south side. Exit numbering increases as one travels clockwise.

Roughly three-fourths of the highway is limited-access, with all movements controlled at 10 interchanges. The remainder is classified as an urban principal arterial highway with a heavy mix of driveway entrances and intersections with one single-point urban interchange at US 60 (Winchester Road) and a diverging diamond interchange at US 68 (Harrodsburg Road). The dividing line between the limited-access segment and the urban arterial highway is US 25 (Richmond and Georgetown Roads) north and east of the city. The speed limit is 55 mph (89 km/h) on the freeway section and 45 mph (72 km/h) on the urban arterial highway.

New Circle Road suffers serious traffic congestion during rush hour due to the lack of other freeways running through the city. Harrodsburg Road, Nicholasville Road, Tates Creek Road, and Newtown Pike also suffer serious congestion because of people trying to get on New Circle and head out of downtown Lexington.

History

New Circle Road was constructed in several segments from 1950 to 1967 [2] as a circumferential bypass. The first segment to be built, from KY 922 (Newtown Pike) to US 25 (Richmond Road)/US 421, was constructed by the city of Lexington in 1952 as two-lane connector road. [3] The original section included at-grade intersections at Palumbo Drive, KY 1927 (Liberty Road), KY 57 (Bryan Station Road), Old Paris Pike, US 27/US 68, and at KY 353 (Russell Cave Road), with one interchange at US 60 (Winchester Road). This segment of the road is also known as the Northern Belt Line or the US 25 Bypass. [4]

To help finance the construction of the original 1952 portion, driveway access was sold to property owners along the route. [5]

After the opening, this section experienced rapid growth and the need to widen it to four lanes from two became evident. In 1958, maintenance was taken over by the state and construction began on the widening to four lanes as it became US 25 Bypass. [3]

The remainder of the highway around Lexington was constructed to near-urban freeway standards with controlled access. Construction of interchanges at US 25 (Richmond Road)/US 421, KY 1974 (Tates Creek Road), US 27 (Nicholasville Road), US 68 (Harrodsburg Road), US 60 (Versailles Road), KY 1681 (Old Frankfort Pike), US 421 (Leestown Road), US 25 (Georgetown Road) and at KY 922 (Newtown Pike). The interchange with Alumni Drive was constructed in late 1984 at a cost of $2 million with the extension of what was then Mount Tabor Road southeastward towards Man o' War Boulevard. [6]

Winchester Road/US 60 interchange reconstruction

The interchange with US 60 (Winchester Road), built in 1961, was sorely out-of-date by the 1980s. Tight 15 mph (24 km/h) ramps and a narrow underpass with no acceleration or deceleration lanes made this a dangerous pseudo-cloverleaf interchange. Trucks, too tall for the substandard overpass height clearance, would frequently damage the bridge girders. Work started in the late 1990s to convert this outdated exit into a single-point urban interchange (SPUI). There are two left turn lanes on each ramp, and those are controlled by a single traffic light instead of two. Longer ramps for merging onto New Circle Road were added. In the fall of 2000, the new Winchester Road interchange opened to traffic at a cost of $8.1 million. [7]

Reconstructing New Circle Road

An early study, part of the "Urban County Government's Year 2000 Transportation Plan", stated that New Circle should be widened to six-lanes by the year 2000. [3]

In 1987, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government recommended a solution to the 6.1-mile (9.8 km) section of New Circle Road from Georgetown Road/US 25 to Richmond Road/US 25/US 421. New Circle Road in the northeastern quadrant of Lexington has high traffic volumes, numerous accidents and traffic delays as motorists face numerous commercial access points, congested intersections, poor traffic signal progressions, and a very low level of service made worse during peak hours. None of these recommendations by the urban government were implemented however. [8]

By 1997, a section of New Circle from Tates Creek Road to Nicholasville Road was averaging more than 60,000 vehicles per day, up from 17,000 30 years ago and an increase of 256%. [2]

In August 1999, the Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky College of Engineering completed Research Report KTC-99-55, "Conversion of New Circle Road to a limited Access Facility". The study compared the addition of one lane in each direction with the use of median U-turns and restricted left-turn strategies at selected intersections from Newtown Pike/KY 922 to Richmond Road/US 25/US 421. This was presented to the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and is considered to have been the stimulus for the development of the New Circle Road Northeast improvement study that began on December 1 of 1999. [9]

Four alternatives for the segment from Newtown Pike/KY 922 to Richmond Road/US 25/US 421 were presented and a fifth was introduced later after combining several key ideas that the residents voiced their approval of at several public meetings: [9]

Recent construction projects

In November 2012, the Kentucky Department of Transportation announced the widening of New Circle Road from four to six lanes from just west of Georgetown Road to Versailles Road. Construction began in the fall of 2013 and was completed in 2016 at a cost of $80 million. [10]

Exit list

The entire route is in Lexington, Fayette County.

mi [11] kmExitDestinationsNotes
2.2243.5792US 68.svg US 68 (Harrodsburg Road) – Harrodsburg, Lexington Diverging diamond interchange
4.6117.4215US 60.svgTo plate blue.svg
Bluegrass Parkway.svg US 60 (Versailles Road) to Bluegrass Parkway  – Versailles, Lexington 		Signed as exits 5A (east) and 5B (west)
6.33610.1976Elongated circle 1681.svg KY 1681 (Old Frankfort Pike)
7.23911.6507US 421.svg US 421 (Leestown Road) – Frankfort, Lexington
8.73114.0518US 25.svg US 25  – Georgetown, Lexington
9.32415.0069Elongated circle 922.svgTo plate blue.svg
I-64.svgTo plate blue.svg
I-75.svg KY 922 (Newtown Pike) to I-64  / I-75  – Lexington 		Clockwise end of freeway; Signed as exits 9A (south) and 9B (north)
Lexmark Interchange
10.35616.666Elongated circle 353.svg KY 353 north (Russell Cave Road) At-grade intersection
10.66517.164US 27.svgUS 68.svg US 27  / US 68 (North Broadway) – Paris, Cynthiana At-grade intersection
11.33918.248Elongated circle 57.svg KY 57 north (Bryan Station Road) / Bryan AvenueAt-grade intersection
12.70420.44513US 60.svgTo plate blue.svg
I-75.svgTo plate blue.svg
I-64.svg US 60 to I-75  / I-64  – Winchester, Lexington 		Single-point urban interchange
13.66921.998Elongated circle 1927.svg KY 1927 east (Liberty Road)At-grade intersection
14.84323.88715US 25.svgUS 421.svg US 25  / US 421  – Richmond, Lexington Counterclockwise end of freeway
16.12325.94716Alumni Drive
17.74828.56318Elongated circle 1974.svg KY 1974 (Tates Creek Road) – Lexington
19.28331.03319US 27.svg US 27 (Nicholasville Road) – Nicholasville, Lexington
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related Research Articles

U.S. Route 68 is a United States highway that runs for 560 miles (900 km) from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present northern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, though the route once extended as far north as Toledo. US 68 intersects with US 62 three times during its route.

Kentucky Route 29 is an 11.324-mile-long (18.224 km) state highway located entirely within Jessamine County in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway, maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, runs north from High Bridge, Kentucky through Wilmore before ending at Nicholasville. Within Wilmore, KY 29 intersects Kentucky Route 1268 and junctions with Kentucky Route 3433. The highway acts as the border between Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary. Just north of Wilmore, KY 29 merges with U.S. Route 68 for 0.590 miles (0.950 km) before leaving US 68 and turning east heading towards Nicholasville. KY 29 terminates at Kentucky Route 39 and U.S. Route 27 Business in downtown Nicholasville.

Kentucky Route 922 is a 20.201 miles (32.510 km) long state highway in northern Kentucky. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27 and U.S. Route 68 in Lexington. The northern terminus is at Kentucky Route 620 north of Georgetown. From US 27/68 north to US 25, KY 922 is named Oliver Lewis Way. From US 25 north to U.S. Route 62, it is named Newtown Pike. Between New Circle Rd and Interstate 75, Newtown Pike is one of the most congested routes during rush hour.

The Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has been involved with transportation planning in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, and its immediate area since being established in 1974. It is responsible, in cooperation with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, for planning and coordinating all aspects of transportation planning on behalf of local governments within its region, which includes the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and Jessamine County.

Kentucky Route 1974, also known as Tates Creek Road, stretches from New Circle Road at its northern terminus and proceeds southeast towards Spears. It has become a popular commuting route from points south, especially with recent housing development south of Man o' War Boulevard that stretches to Kentucky Route 1980. KY 1974 was widened from two to four lanes south of Man o' War Boulevard to KY 1980 in the late 1990s. It becomes a rural two-lane road with very light traffic to its southern terminus with KY 169, which leads to the Valley View Ferry.

Man o War Boulevard

Man o' War Boulevard, named after the racehorse Man o' War, is an almost 17-mile (27 km) urban arterial, circling Lexington, Kentucky to its south. Its western terminus is at US 60 / Keeneland Boulevard at Keeneland Race Course's main entrance, from which the highway heads southeast, intersecting with US 68, US 27, and other roads. It then turns east and northeast, intersecting KY 1974, US 25/US 421, and I-75, before ending at US 60 at Brighton. The majority of the road is a four-lane divided highway with curbs and sidewalks maintained by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, but the 1.429-mile (2.300 km) portion east of I-75 is maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet as Supplemental Road Kentucky Route 1425, and only carries two lanes.

Kentucky Route 1683 was a former state highway that ran from Clays Mill Road to US 27 in Lexington, Kentucky. Its former routing was from the entrance of Jessie M. Clark Middle School and followed along what is now Vincent Way to West Reynolds Road. In 1999, a new four-lane urban arterial opened from Clays Mill to the Norfolk Southern Railway underpass; this included a new traffic circle with Keithshire Way, the first in the city. Part of the old West Reynolds Road was renamed Vincent Way.

Citation Boulevard, a four-lane divided highway, currently extends from just west of US 25 at the Norfolk Southern Railway to KY 922 in Lexington, Kentucky. Known as Phase I, it was completed in 2001 and included a bridge over Cane Run. Phase II extends southwest from the Norfolk Southern Railway to US 421 at Alexandria Drive and includes a span over the railroad. The highway west of Newtown Pike was constructed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Interstate 64 (I-64) in the US state of Kentucky travels for 191 miles (307 km), passing by the major towns and cities of Louisville, Frankfort, Lexington, and Ashland. It has several major junctions with other Interstates, including I-65, I-71, I-264, and I-265 in Louisville and I-75 in Lexington.

U.S. Route 27 (US 27) in Kentucky runs 201.120 miles (323.671 km) from the Tennessee border to the Ohio border at Cincinnati. It crosses into the state in the Lake Cumberland area, passing near or through many small towns, including Somerset, Stanford, and Nicholasville. The road then passes straight through the heart of Lexington, including past the University of Kentucky (UK) and Transylvania University. North of Lexington it passes through Cynthiana and Falmouth before entering Campbell County and passing through many Northern Kentucky suburbs before ending at the Ohio state line on the Taylor Southgate Bridge in Cincinnati.

U.S. Route 421 (US 421) in the U.S. state of Kentucky is a 250.536-mile-long (403.199 km) north–south United States highway that traverses twelve counties in the central and eastern parts of the state. It travels in a southeast-to-northwest path from the Virginia state line near Pennington Gap to the Indiana state line, on the Ohio River at Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana.

Kentucky Route 1681 is a 21.448-mile (34.517 km) state highway in Kentucky that runs from Kentucky Route 1659 immediately north of Millville to U.S. Route 60, Kentucky Route 922, and Manchester Street on the northwestern side of downtown Lexington.

Kentucky Route 353 (KY 353) a 19.940-mile-long (32.090 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway connects Fayette, Bourbon, and Harrison counties with Lexington.

Kentucky Route 1973 is a 33.886-mile-long (54.534 km) north–south secondary state highway located in Fayette and Scott counties in east-central Kentucky. It traverses the eastern and northern suburbs of Lexington and southern Scott County.

Kentucky Route 1928 was a state highway in the city of Lexington in Fayette County, Kentucky. The highway ran 0.170 miles (0.274 km) along Jefferson Street from U.S. Route 60 east to US 25 and US 421.

Kentucky Route 1977 is an urban secondary state highway located entirely in northern Fayette County in East Central Kentucky. The 6.255 miles (10.066 km) mainly traverses the northwestern outskirts of Lexington.

Kentucky Route 1978, known locally as Greendale Road, is an urban secondary state highway located entirely in northern Fayette County in East Central Kentucky. The 2.242 miles (3.608 km) mainly traverses the northwestern outskirts of Lexington.

References

  1. ↑ Division of Planning. "Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Highway Information System. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hall, Elizabeth Wade (February 25, 1997). "To Widen or Not: Some with Homes Nearby Worried". Herald-Leader. Lexington, KY.[ page needed ]
  3. 1 2 3 Gaines, John (November 12, 1984). "A New Wave of Development Sweeps over New Circle Road". Herald-Leader. Lexington, KY.[ page needed ]
  4. ↑ Cross Reference Directory, Greater Lexington. City Publishing. May 1981.[ page needed ]
  5. ↑ http://www.newcircleroad.com/ Archived April 3, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Davis, Merlene (January 27, 1985). "Several Projects Helping To Ease Area's Traffic Woes". Herald-Leader. Lexington, KY.[ page needed ]
  7. ↑ "Interchange Done Ahead of Schedule". Herald-Leader. Lexington, KY. June 19, 2000. p. B1.
  8. ↑ "New Circle Road". Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. 2002. Archived from the original on 2004-04-03.
  9. 1 2 Conversion of New Circle Road to a limited Access Facility (Report). Kentucky Transportation Center, University of Kentucky, Federal Highway Administration. August 1998.
  10. ↑ "New Circle To Be Widened From Georgetown to Versailles Roads". Lexington Herald-Leader . November 19, 2012. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  11. ↑ Division of Planning. "Highway Information System Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2007.

Route map:

KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/New Circle Road
KML is not from Wikidata
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.