By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Though city officials get plenty of calls from constituents about local streets when they need work, the Kentucky Department of Transportation is actually responsible for maintaining most of Glasgow’s primary transportation routes.
Joe Plunk, chief district engineer for the Kentucky Department of Transportation’s District 3, which is based in Bowling Green but includes Barren County, provided updates Monday on the various stages of progress for improvement projects for those streets, some of which have been on the drawing boards for several years.
Plunk told the Glasgow Common Council at its regular meeting that South Green Street will be resurfaced as part of a routine-maintenance plan this year. Next year, the Glasgow Public Square is slated to be resurfaced. In preparation for the work on the square, however, a consultant has been hired to perform a study to determine whether other changes are needed, such as directional flow of traffic, parking, crosswalks, etc.
“We’re going to be brainstorming, ‘What if we really re-envisioned the square?’” he said.
He said the study is just getting started; data is being pulled and a traffic count is underway. A public meeting would be included in the process as well to gather feedback.
After the study is completed, it’s possible nothing would change for the two-laned, one-way square, but they wanted to see whether anything needs to be different with regard to efficiency and safety so any changes deemed necessary can be incorporated with the resurfacing project.
Another project that’s only in the study stage with a consultant is the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway interchange at U.S. 31-E, which is Exit 11. Plunk said there had been 54 collisions there in a three-year period, so reconfiguration options will be under consideration that could improve safety.
He reminded the council members that the commonwealth’s two-year budget that was approved by the state legislature last year controls the expenditures in the department’s capital highway plan before touching on several projects that have been identified over the past years as needs.
– Bids for construction work are expected to be opened in June for improvements to Happy Valley Road (Ky. 90) from Veterans Outer Loop to Cave City, modernizing the route with more turning lanes and longer passing opportunities. He said all the necessary rights of way have been acquired, and utility relocation is underway now.
“So we’ll start that construction later this year, all the way through next year. That’s going to be a major improvement in the Glasgow area,” Plunk said, having acknowledged that most of it is outside Glasgow.
– The design is “largely finished” for improvements to Roseville Road at Trojan Trail, which are to be funded in part by congressionally earmarked money, with the widening of a bridge, a roundabout and sidewalks all part of that plan, Plunk said. Obtaining rights of way is next, so he said the best-case scenario for construction there would be next year, but more likely it would come in 2027.
– Rights of way and/or land acquisition is underway for the plan to widen Cleveland Avenue (Ky. 1297) from the U.S. 31-E Bypass to Industrial Drive. He said that process would probably take the rest of this year, and the “best case will be finishing utilities in ’26 and construction in ’27.” Plunk said he’s aware of the city’s 160-acre project that is in large part along Cleveland Avenue, and he wants to help ensure that project and the road-widening project work together seamlessly.
– The right-of-way and utility-relocation work Water Street tunnel under North Race Street are not in the current two-year budget cycle, Plunk said, “so we’re kind of stuck right now, until we get to the next budget phase, a year from now, when the legislature and the governor pass the next budget.” Essentially, they will replace the existing tunnel with a prefabricated tunnel with a facade meant to look like stone, and once that work is ready to begin, that portion of North Race will be closed for several months, he said.
– To properly fix Columbia Avenue requires a complete rebuild of the pavement, ripping out everything there now, including the subgrade and sidewalks. Plunk described it as “a $7 million project for a mile-and-a-half of pavement redo.” He said it may not seem that anything is happening on that project, but a lot of preparation work is occurring. When the time comes for actual construction, they will do as much as possible to continue traffic flow and to time it when school is not in session, he said. Plunk said the worst part of the street is between Front Street to Davis Street. He said it would be at least 2026, but likely later, before work on the roadway can begin.
