Road work should be finished soon

Weather slowed resurfacing project

By Glypie Grider
NH Staff Writer   

Traffic was delayed, rerouted and a hassle to deal with last week — and what looks to be the rest of this week — as a resurfacing project in downtown Owenton is taking longer than expected to finish.
The resurfacing of a 1.86 mile stretch of road which includes sections of U.S. 127, Ky. 2353 (Blanton Street) and Ky. 2354 (Roland Avenue) began last Tuesday and was expected to be finished over the weekend, said Nancy Wood, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Public Information Officer for the area.
“Weather permitting, it’s only supposed to be a two- to three-day project,” she said.
Rain showers in the beginning and end of the week delayed the projects, however.
Weather conditions, coupled with the high traffic volume in town due to last week’s 75th Annual 4-H Fair and Horse Show, were hard not only on the construction workers.
“It couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Joyce Lathrem, an Owen County citizen, who was delayed entering and exiting the city several times last week. “It got to be a bother,” she admitted of the frequent delays.
Dodging protruding manholes was another major complaint, especially on the U.S. 127 section.
“I was afraid I was going to bust a tire,” Lathrem said.
Though some may have considered the overlapping fair schedule a problem, the consensus among locals was that the resurfacing, particularly of Roland Avenue, was long overdue.
“I thought it was funny they were doing this during fair week, but I’m not going to complain as long as they are fixing it,” said Celia Wright, a nurse at New Horizons Medical Center which is situated at the corner of Roland Avenue and U.S. 127.
A narrow road, signs that aren’t well-defined and too many potholes to count were among the list of complaints regarding Roland Avenue.
“The road’s been a mess for several years,” admitted Lisa Stewart, another nurse at New Horizons Medical Center. “There were more problems when they just patched everything over year after year. It’s just as good when everything was scraped off,” she said.
Stewart said she’s heard people complaining about having to sit in traffic and even more complaints about the manholes, but she said people need to think of the long term. “It’s a small sacrifice now that will pay off in the long run,” she said.
Construction is expected to begin today on another resurfacing project, Wood said. All of Dowd Road (Ky. 325) in Owen County will be resurfaced; a total of 5.6 miles. Both resurfacing projects, contracted out at $381,025.61, were approved by the state budget and awarded to Mago Construction Company, LLC.
“A lot of roads need to be repaired, and I'm glad the funds are there,” Stewart said.