In a possible foreshadowing of the safety of the road, a man was killed crossing the intersection of US 68 and Kentucky 139 in 1993 before the new four-lane road was opened.
The intersection, which featured a flashing yellow and red light, consistently proved to be one of the most dangerous in Trigg County in terms of fatal crashes and people injured.
Following another fatal crash in 2020, the state transportation cabinet constructed one of the first R-CUT designs in the state to cut down on the number of cars passing directly across the intersection on the South Road and in turn, in front of vehicles driving east-west on US 68.
While met with some criticism at the time by people who didn’t understand the design or wished for a standard traffic light to be installed, the numbers show the R-CUT design has drastically cut down on the number of crashes and people injured and killed at the intersection.
From 2017 to 2020, the intersection saw 16 crashes with seven people injured and two people killed. From 2021-24, there were six crashes with two injuries and no fatalities.
R-CUTs use median crossovers to eliminate side-street left turns and eliminate multiple points of conflict where vehicles cross paths, including at right angles, which in turn, reduces the risk of severe crashes.
Chief District Engineer Kyle Poat says a national study showed R-CUTs reduced crashes by 54% on average.
He also says R-CUTs and other safer road designs such as roundabouts will continue to be a part of the state’s efforts to improve highway safety across the state.
Poat says the Trigg County R-CUT is one of 11 constructed in six counties in the highway district.
