One month after the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet closed a section of U.S. 60 West in Stanley, local authorities report that accidents, speeding and increased traffic have caused problems in the area.
During what is expected to be at least a six-month closure of U.S. 60, KYTC has marked detours via KY 1554, KY 56 and KY 279. But Daviess County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Barry Smith said commercial vehicles, especially tractor-trailers, are not following the designated detour.
Instead, Smith said, tractor-trailers are choosing to travel Griffith Station Road, a county road too narrow and not suitable for the weight of larger vehicles but offer a shorter drive to nearby factories and industry.
“We’ve had three wrecks on Griffith Station since the detour began a month ago,” Smith said. “There have also been complaints of speeding and increased traffic on 1554, the road they are supposed to be taking. But we are spending more time working accidents on Griffith Station that we can’t address 1554.”
Smith said an overturned tractor-trailer on Friday took DCSO deputies four hours to clear.
“The truck was going to get watermelons, so it was only filled with pallets,” Smith said. “It can be much worse if the truck is loaded.”
Two other wrecks have involved tractor-trailers with relatively empty trucks, but Smith said they have still taken hours to clear the scenes.
“We are taking action,” Smith said. “We have spoken with nearby Kimberly-Clark [where many of the trucks are traveling to]. We will also start issuing citations.”
Smith said the patrol area includes Griffith Station Road, KY 1554, KY 56 and KY 279.
“We get out there as much as we can, but that is determined by our call load,” he said.
Smith said he has reached out to KYTC to add weight limit signage to Griffith Station Road, but could not confirm if those signs were in place yet.
KYTC Public Information Officer Keith Todd said the Cabinet’s responsibility is to provide a marked detour along a legal route for trucks.
“If trucks attempt to use routes that are not legal, that becomes an issue for law enforcement,” he said.
While Todd said his people try to monitor what’s going on, they have no enforcement authority.
“The enforcement part takes blue lights and a badge,” he said.
Kentucky State Police Public Affairs Officer Corey King said KSP has received emails from residents in the Stanley area.
“We are trying to free up commercial vehicle enforcement to do more patrol,” he said. “We know it is concerning to locals, but road maintenance has to be a priority too.”
The half-mile work zone is near the Oakford Road Loop between U.S. 60 Daviess County milepoint 5.690 and milepoint 6.282. The project is aimed at raising the driving surface along a section of U.S. 60 to make it less likely the roadway will close during river flooding.
According to a KYTC release announcing the closure, U.S. 60 has been closed seven times due to floodwaters at this site since 1937, which averages every 11.7 years.
“When floodwaters cover U.S. 60, the Stanley community becomes an island creating a safety issue for area residents,” the release said. “Recent floods in 2011, 2015, and 2018 forced the roadway to close. Those closures severely hampered truck traffic going to and from the nearby Kimberly-Clark plant.”
This project includes construction and placement of several new culverts, as well as raising the elevation of the driving surface.
Approximately 3,500 vehicles travel this section of U.S. 60 near Oakford Road Loop daily.
Yager Materials, LLC, is the prime contractor on this $2,397,837 highway improvement project. The contractor has 180 working days to complete the project which puts the target completion date around the end of the year.
