BENTON, KY - Several projects in Benton and Marshall County are affecting traffic this week.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says you should look out for traffic signal technicians and contractors working at the intersection of the US 641 Spur and KY 58/Mayfield Highway west of Benton. Technicians plan to upgrade the traffic signal at this busy intersection. There have been a number of crashes at the intersection due to northbound drivers on the US 641 Spur running through the intersection into cross traffic.

A new traffic signal is going to be installed at the intersection of KY 348/West 5th Street and Commerce Boulevard in Benton. The City of Benton requested a review of the intersection due to increased traffic numbers at the site. Traffic engineers studied the intersection at several different times of day and determined that traffic volume on KY 348 was causing significant delays for vehicles attempting to pull out of Commerce Boulevard into traffic flow.

Additionally, state highway officials say a change has been made to the left turn lane at the intersection of US 68 and US 641 in Draffenville. Eastbound traffic on US 68 turning left into US 641 northbound will now have a protected left turn which will transition to a permissive left turn. During the permissive phase, vehicles making the left turn will have to yield to oncoming traffic. Signs have been added to the signal to indicate the new signal phasing for turns. This new phasing will improve efficiency of traffic flow through the intersection. Whenever traffic clears out of the turn lane, the signal controller is programmed to skip a stop phase for through traffic on US 68.