Alexandria officials are warning drivers to stop going the wrong way on State Route 709 after multiple reports and near-collisions on the closed stretch of the road.
State Route 709, also known as E Alexandria Pike, is the road behind Walmart that connects the AA Highway to U.S. 27 near the Honey Hole Bar and Grill.
The lane allowing traffic from U.S. 27 to the AA Highway is closed; however, the opposite lane remains open. The city said during its Oct. 16 meeting that drivers are ignoring the lane closure and driving in the opposite direction.
“More disturbingly, I wanted to bring this up to talk about because we are getting a lot of reports and complaints from the public about people who are purposely going the wrong way on 709 to try and get down to the AA highway, and I want to encourage the public to please consider otherwise,” Alexandria City Administrator David Plummer said.
The lane is expected to be closed until November. The one-lane closure is in place while the transportation cabinet works to install a new right-turn lane from KY 709 eastbound to AA Highway southbound.
The city warned during its city council meeting on Oct. 16 that individuals going the wrong way down the road will be issued a police citation.
Alexandria Assistant Police Chief Ryan Roessler said during the meeting that just before the meeting, the department witnessed several cars traveling the wrong way down the street, and one even almost hit him head-on.
“It is clearly marked from multiple places for 709, so just reiterating, if the road does say ‘closed do not enter,’ do not go in that direction of travel,” Roessler said. “That is a citable offense, and you will be pulled over and more than likely cited due to you going into an oncoming lane of traffic.”
He said the department has seen multiple near-collisions from people traveling the wrong way.
Enzweiler Road is just South of State Route 709 and also connects U.S 27 to the AA Highway. The city closed that road to the general public to help dissuade people from using it as a cut-through while State Route 709 is closed.
“It doesn’t get followed all the time,” Plummer said. “We find a lot of tractor-trailers that cut through, thinking it’s a wider road than it is, and that’s a danger because the road itself is no more than 12 feet wide.”
Alexandria City Attorney Mike Duncan stated that, in his experience, if someone gets into a car accident on State Route 709 after ignoring the city’s and police department’s advice, insurance companies will not cover it.
Plummer said by the end of next week, the majority of the work could be completed, but at the latest, it could be two to three more weeks.
