US 45 Traffic Signal to be Reactivated after Study

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to reactivate a traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. 45/Paducah-Mayfield Road and KY 1276/Key Bottom Road in Graves County at 10:00 am Wednesday.

KYTC traffic engineers placed the traffic signal at the entrance to the old General Tire Plant in flashing mode on May 1, 2014, to allow a traffic study to determine if it should be removed.

KYTC Spokesman Keith Todd said that during the traffic flow study, engineers determined while traffic count numbers at the signal were greatly diminished following closure of the General Tire Plant in October 2006, the wait time for traffic attempting to turn onto U.S. 45 from KY 1276/Key Bottom Road was still significant.

KYTC District 1 Chief Engineer Mike McGregor also noted that the public and civic leaders in the Mayfield area support keeping the signal in place.

Todd said immediate repairs will be required to put the signal back into service, and that KYTC engineers are seeking funding approval for a full updating of the signal in the future.

About 14,000 vehicles travel through this intersection on an average day, while about 1,000 vehicles travel KY 1276/Key Bottom Road.