The second phase of the ongoing I-64 improvement project in eastern Kentucky is underway.
Transportation officials said in March, contractors set up the work zone from mile markers 164 to 171 between Olive Hill and Grayson. Work on that section is expected to wrap up in June.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Spokesman Allen Blair said speed limits on the seven mile stretch currently under construction will be reduced to 55 miles per hour.
“We put everybody into one lane each direction through there so that the contractors can do all the necessary repairs to the drainage, to the ditch line, and blacktop the highway,” he said. “As spring and summer progresses, the lanes may shift a little bit within that work zone so that the contractors can get in there and do the paving that’s necessary to improve this important highway.”
Blair advised motorists to drive with caution through the work zone.
“The best way to keep yourself safe is to slow down, keep that slow speed through the work zone,” he said. “Make sure that you pay attention and not be distracted as you go through that work zone to protect yourself as well as the workers out there.”
Blair said this phase is part of the larger project spanning nearly 17 miles that began last summer. In total, $20 million in state funding are being used to make the improvements.