'It's a roller coaster': Why Blue Lick Road project is raising safety concerns

Steve and Dana Connell don't have to go far to find an amusement park ride — it's like they've got one in front of their Okolona home.

"Getting in and out of the neighborhood or simply going to my parents, which isn't far, is just atrocious," Steve Connell said. "You might as well put your arms up when driving on Blue Lick (Road), because it's a roller coaster. You have to drive slowly."

For more than a year, Blue Lick Road has been a mess.

As part of an $11 million-project intended to make it safer, the state is widening the road between the Snyder Freeway and Preston Highway, installing new drainage, adding a center turn lane, straightening curves and putting in more traffic lights.

But for now, all the traffic has been pushed into two temporary asphalt lanes that pitch up and down when cars reach average speeds; road shoulders aren’t visible even in good light, and poor drainage means cars hydroplane when the first raindrops fall — frustrating drivers who live near the road and use it to commute.

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"I have a hard time believing that something like this would happen on the East End or in the Highlands," Steve Connell said. "This would not happen on Shelbyville Road nor on Westport Road."

The state highway department project, which stretches 1.6 miles, began in March 2021 and isn't expected to be complete until spring 2023. Residents say the project is taking too long and leaves them with scary road conditions, while some business owners say they are losing customers because people are avoiding the area.

Jim Hannah, a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said road projects are "not a quick thing."

"Any project of similar scope would take the same amount of time in the state," Hannah said. Even before construction starts, there's utility relocation, purchasing the right of way and waiting for state funding that "is not a snap-your-finger process."

Hannah said the project is in its second phase and is on time, with phase three set to begin in the fall.

Until its completed, regular users of the road worry it will continue to cause more harm than good.

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Dangerous road conditions, lost profits

Okolona resident Marci Taylor regularly drives 15-20 minutes out of her way to avoid the traffic on Blue Lick — sometimes driving to Bullitt County and circling back to get home.

"The light pattern is confusing," she said, adding she's "scared there will be more accidents on Blue Lick Road."

Some small business owners say the long, messy construction project has also cut into their profits.

"Whatever we're doing right now is half of what we normally do," Rasiklal Patel, owner of Quick Stop Liquors & More, said of his store's revenue. "This has affected my business very badly. And plus, the bills never stop, payroll never stops. Whatever happens, I have to pay. It doesn't matter."

Douglas Miller, who owns Bullet Liner of Louisville, a truck detail and accessory shop, said the construction has made it difficult to receive deliveries.

"If I had the ability to improve the situation, I would definitely have more people out (working)," Miller said.

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Madonna Flood, who represents Okolona, said the road has needed to be rebuilt for years. Curves on the road east of Foreman Lane had to be straightened, new shoulders added and a traffic light installed in the left-turning lane on Blue Lick — improvements meant to reduce the potential for accidents and make traffic flow more smoothly.

According to Kentucky State Police data, 293 accidents took place on the stretch of Blue Lick Road that's under construction between 2015 and 2022.

"I totally sympathize with the people. I am stuck in the same traffic, the same bumpy road," Flood said. "But any time you have a repair of this magnitude it is painful, but the end result is well worth it. A better road, a safer road to travel from Preston Highway to Freedom Way."

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'No one is fighting for us'

Critics have said Flood hasn't represented residents' concerns or informed them adequately about the project. They say there wasn't a community meeting held to explain the phases of construction, and the only information they received was copied and pasted from the state website into Flood's community newsletter.

Dana Connell said she doesn't feel like "the people in Okolona have had any real representation in a very long time, so no one is fighting for us to get this completed. I also realize that the widening of Blue Lick was to be done in stages, but if our representative isn’t willing to admit that this project has been going on for as long as it has, then we have a lot more problems than I realized.”

Flood said part of the construction area is no longer in her district, and she does not have power over the state to contest the contract, which was awarded to Louisville Paving & Construction in December 2020. But she said she has worked to keep Okolona residents informed.

"We have answered questions, replied to emails and spoken to individuals that we have seen at church and at the grocery store," Flood said. "I have not heard anything about businesses having difficulty. Everyone is supplied with an e-mail blast newsletter. Any information we have, we share. There has been transparency in every step of the process."

Homeowner Analis Triana feels she too has been kept in the dark about the project.

"They (Louisville Paving & Construction) took a piece of my driveway, and they still haven't fixed it," she said. "This was about a month or so ago. They just came and said what they were going to do. They never said when they were going to fix it, they just did it (the demolition)."

John Lynch, director of the Heavy Highway Division at Louisville Paving & Construction, said the company does its best to keep disruptions to a minimum and to communicate with homeowners about repairs. But a concrete shortage has caused significant delays prolonging the process.

"We have gone a week plus without any cement," he said. "All state projects come with plans instructing what has to be built. There are times where we may have to excavate on a homeowners property. Normally, these repairs would take one to two days plus, but we haven't been able to do that with any regularity."

Steve Connell said he's frustrated the project is taking so long but is optimistic that this will all pass.

"All we want are three lanes of smooth paved roads with sidewalks for people to walk safely, sooner than later," he said.

Reach Culture & Diversity reporter Jason Gonzalez at jgonzalez1@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Blue Lick Road project Louisville raising safety concerns in Okolona