Mountain Parkway Traffic Switch Planned Next Week
Ramps to reopen as traffic moves to newly constructed roadway
SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (June 14, 2017) – Motorists traveling the Mountain Parkway west of Salyersville will follow a new traffic pattern starting next week as crews prepare for additional road construction. Two new ramps on the parkway also are scheduled to open.
Travelers should be cautious and prepare for several lane switches next week near the KY 7 interchange (Exit 75) of the Mountain Parkway. Speed limits have been reduced in the area, and signs will be posted to alert travelers of the changes.
Beginning as early as Monday, June 19, both lanes of traffic will be moved from the existing parkway to two new lanes to the south of the existing parkway. These lanes eventually will serve eastbound traffic when the project is completed.
Diverted traffic will travel across a new bridge over KY 7 as well as a new bridge that spans the Licking River.
The traffic switch will allow workers to construct the future westbound lanes of the parkway and remove and replace an old bridge that crosses KY 7.
Eastbound ramps to reopen
As a result of the traffic switch, eastbound travelers on the parkway will have renewed access to the KY 7 interchange. Eastbound ramps at the interchange closed earlier this month.
Newly constructed ramps will open this week, allowing vehicles traveling eastbound on the parkway to exit at the KY 7 interchange. Vehicles on KY 7 will be able to access the parkway to travel east.
About the Mountain Parkway Expansion
The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a 46-mile transportation improvement project that will create a wider, safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth. It is a key transportation project designed to close the only gap in a 400-mile, four-lane, high-speed corridor for commerce and mobility across Kentucky from Pikeville to Paducah. The project will widen 30 miles of the existing parkway to four lanes and extend the parkway by about 16 miles between Salyersville and Prestonsburg.
