LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Roadwork along Lexington Road near Sacred Heart might have you constructing a new plan for the daily commute.
“I'm sure it's going to be pretty bad later in the morning and rush hour,” Glenn Rush said. Rush lives off Stilz Avenue, which is now closed for the next three months. The roadblock means he'll only have one way out at Cherry Lane, and it's causing concern.
“There's no light, the visibility is real limited down there because of shrubbery and such,” he explained.
The heavy equipment is in place for the final phase of a three-year project by the Louisville Water Company. The Eastern Parkway Project involves replacing six miles of a near 100-year-old water main.
“We're able to do it without digging up six miles of highway. We're pushing a smaller pipe inside the original pipe,” said Louisville Water Company’s Kelley Dearing Smith.
The creative ingenuity temporarily closes Stilz between Grinstead Drive and Lexington Road. Lexington Road is also down to two lanes from Grinstead Drive to Cross Hill Road. Drivers will not be able to get to I-64 West from Lexington Road and will have to go up to Grinstead Drive instead. The lane closures will shift throughout the next year.
“There will be traffic detours. You're going to have to pay attention to the signs, but those traffic detours will be short lived as we push that new pipe in,” Dearing Smith said.
At least neighbors in the area won't need to worry about losing water service for long periods of time. Rush said he understands the need for improvement, calling it “part of progress,” but hopes something can be done so that his detour isn’t dangerous.
“Maybe they can put a temporary light there, something like that,” he explained.
It’s the end of the line for nearly 100 years of service on a key part of Louisville’s infrastructure. For more information, click here.
Contact reporter Heather Fountaine at hfountaine@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Heather) and Facebook.