LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's been less than 24 hours since a deadly, wrong-way crash on Interstate 75 in Lexington. It has some questioning what can be done to avoid such tragedies.
Kentucky received more than $5 million last year for this exact issue.
Governor Andy Beshear said the money would be used for a new tech system, but where is it?
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says they hope to begin the project by the end of this year and are now in the planning phase of getting contract agreements together and drafting a proposal.
"It's in a way similar to how we do like transit, transportation, highway construction type projects. You have the funding, but then you've got to put together a proposal of what you want your people who are bidding to include," said Naitore Djigbenou, executive director for the office of public affairs. "What are your key requirements, you're making sure you're hearing from them before you even put it out on the street to make sure whatever you put on the street is something that's actually realistic, and you have a pool of people who are ready to apply."
It's been almost nine months since the award was announced. The cabinet says it was just an announcement of the beginning of the process.
"When money is awarded, the expectations are to see something immediately but a lot of it is we're moving the needle behind the scenes right now."
Dijgbenou says once a contract is awarded, the implementation stage can begin.
She added traffic safety is a priority for the transportation cabinet and they are also looking at working on a state project to increase and improve wrong-way signage.
"We want to see fewer wrong-way crashes and infrastructure upgrades are an important component of that. But we also know there are other elements that are going to be really needed if we're going to turn the tide including driving behaviors," said Dijgbenou.
Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States for people ages 1 to 54.
In Kentucky, wrong-way crashes have caused alarm for years.
In 2021, a wrong-way crash killed six people including four children in Kentucky. 24 people died that year because of wrong-way accidents.
In 2022, Laurel County Sheriff's Office shows a driver heading in the opposite direction on I-75.
81 people died from wrong-way crashes that year.
Sunday night, it was an 84-year-old man killed after witnesses and police say he crashed into another car driving the wrong way on I-75.
An 18-year-old who was driving in another car is in critical condition.
According to a study by AAA, an average of 430 people are killed in wrong-way driving crashes each year. Their research shows 41.1% were in other vehicles.
Some technology you could see:
- Detection system - identifies wrong-way incidents and other safety concerns in real time
- Deterrent system - that activates warnings
- Alert system - notifies correct direction travelers and emergency responders
- Mainline monitoring system
"When we launch this, we want to do it right, so all the steps right now are going to help us roll out the best possible version," said Dijgbenou.
Summer is considered the deadliest driving season with more road work, more drivers, and more young people on Kentucky roads.
