The Harrodsburg Road (U.S. 68) Double Crossover Diamond interchange was recently recognized for excellence in the 2012 American's Transportation Awards competition, according to a press release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
The interchange project was a winner in the category of Best Use of Innovation, Small Project.
According to the release, the project "reduced congestion and increased safety at one of Lexington's busiest and chronically crash-plagued interchanges – U.S. 68 and KY 4 (New Circle Road). The design is the first of its kind in Kentucky and one of six in the United States. It took less than four months to construct and at a cost – $5.5 million – that was less than a third of other options."
The affected stretch of Harrodsburg Road, previously, had the "highest crash rate of any major artery in Lexington. But within months of the new design, crashes dropped by nearly half."
Given the success of the design, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has two more double crossover diamond designs in the works with still others being discussed.