LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman presented a ceremonial check for $875,000 on Wednesday from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) for traffic safety improvements at or near the University of Louisville and four other campuses.


What You Need To Know

  • $875,000 headed to Louisville schools and campuses for traffic safety improvements

  • The funding is part of Gov. Andy Beshear's plan to invest nearly $23 million in highway safety projects near Kentucky schools

  • Beshear tasked KYTC with targeting sites and setting priorities for the projects, using state funding allocated in the 2020 Kentucky Highway Plan

  • Nearly 70 safety improvement projects have been identified

“I’m an educator and your lieutenant governor, and I’m also the mom of a daughter who will be in preschool before I know it and two sons who are in college,” said Coleman. “For my kids and for all of our kids, I want to make sure our schools and campuses are safe for our students, from young children to young adults. These investments are going to make such a difference for these five schools and the community they are a part of.”

The funding is part of Gov. Andy Beshear's plan to invest nearly $23 million in highway safety projects near Kentucky schools. Beshear tasked KYTC with targeting sites and setting priorities for the projects, using state funding allocated in the 2020 Kentucky Highway Plan. Nearly 70 safety improvement projects have been identified, the full list of which can be found online.

A portion of the funding headed to Louisville — $150,000 — is going toward a project to install a heigh-detection warning system on Winkler Avenue and Third Street, near the University of Louisville campus, for traffic approaching a low-clearance railroad bridge at Third Street. Too-tall commercial vehicles often try to pass under it, only to become wedged, earning the bridge the title of "the Can Opener."

The warning system, a combination of signage and flashing lights, would be deployed on Winkler Avenue and Third Street to alert traffic approaching from the south, officials said. A warning system already is in place on Eastern Parkway for traffic approaching from the north.

“We hope the addition of a second height-detection warning system will finally put an end to large trucks getting caught under this bridge,” Coleman said.

Other safety projects will be underway on Kentucky Route 1020, near Jefferson Community and Technical College; West Broadway at South 24th Street, near Byck Elementary School; U.S. 150 at U.S. Route 31W, near Western Middle School; and Kentucky Route 1934 at South Crums Lane, near Crums Lane Elementary School.

“Louisville produces extensive daily traffic as the most populous city in the state,” said State Sen. Gerald Neal, who represents part of Jefferson County. “It is vital we invest in safety measures that protect our students while also protecting our citizens on the roadways. I appreciate Gov. Beshear and Lt. Gov. Coleman for recognizing that and making improvements a priority.”

Officials said that KYTC engineers will study each location and tailor a plan to make them safer for pedestrians and motorists. Improvements could include new pavement and crosswalk striping and signage, additional speed limit signage, enhanced street lighting and retrofitting traffic signal heads with highly reflective backplates that make signal lights stand out.

“These individual projects are in the early planning stages, with many details to be worked out. But the result will be streets near school campuses made safer for pedestrians and motorists alike,” Coleman said.