A $4 million highway safety project featuring two Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUTs) on U.S. 41 in Henderson opened Thursday, about a week ahead of schedule, according to officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Located just south of the Twin Bridges, officials said the RCUTs aim to reduce dangerous left-turn and side-impact crashes by requiring vehicles from Wolf Hills Road and Stratman Road to turn right and use a U-turn lane, instead of crossing multiple lanes of traffic. They noted the area has seen 94 crashes, including five serious or fatal incidents, in recent years.
According to officials, RCUTs are proven to improve safety, as seen in other Kentucky projects, and help maintain smooth traffic flow along this busy corridor. They noted a review of an RCUT installed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on U.S. 68 in Trigg County recently showed a 64.5% decrease in total crashes since the RCUT was completed and a 71% decrease in injuries – exceeding benefits found in a national study, which showed RCUTs reduced crashes by 54% on average.
The Twin Bridges are a main route between northwest Kentucky and southern Indiana, carrying over 41,000 vehicles daily across the Ohio River. The nearby U.S. 41 intersections at Wolf Hills Road and Stratman Road have reportedly seen an unusually high rate of serious and fatal crashes over the past five years.
