Why the Exit Ramp Work on Interstate 165 at Hartford, Kentucky Is a Necessity…and Welcome

When I got my first driver's license, I bet I hit every road in Daviess County at least once within the first six months. I couldn't wait to start driving and I still enjoy it today.

But I could get a little carried away in my youth and DID on two curves in the county--one at the bottom of a hill on Millers Mill Road and the other on Foors Lane. Those are pretty sharp turns. When I was 16 I was driving too fast and missed both of them. Fortunately, there were driveways available that stopped me from having a terrible accident. It might have been difficult to damage that great big Mercury Marquis, but who wants to risk THAT? And no, I didn't think it was cool. It's why I don't like cloverleaf interchanges.

THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM, INITIALLY

When the interstate highway system was born in the 1950s, those types of offramps and onramps were the order of the day. But even as far back as 1999, it was believed (and rightly so, I might add) that that type of exit had outlived its usefulness. Motorists are driving too fast for those types of ramps to be the safest way to exit the four-lane.

CLOVERLEAF EXITS ARE NO LONGER WELCOME

Here's a visual explanation of why cloverleaf exits are no longer welcome.

When the Natcher Parkway was the Natcher Parkway, all of the exits were those kinds of exits, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is working on getting that issue "straightened out." And I'm sure you've noticed the work, by now.

DIAMOND INTERCHANGES

The goal is the make them "diamond interchanges" which will help the flow of traffic immeasurably.

That's also being done (and the work may be nearing completion) in Bowling Green at the U.S. 231 exit. When I was a student at WKU, I would approach those cloverleaf exits way too fast. Yes, that's on me; I understand that. But even if you're driving the speed limit, you have to DRASTICALLY reduce your speed--much more than you might realize--to access that thing.

But it's going away, just like at the Hartford exit, in favor of more driver-friendly diamond exits. And it's all because it is now Interstate 165 and those cloverleaf ramps are no longer up to interstate highway standards. That's fine by me.

ROAD WORK AT THE HARTFORD EXIT

I like that the Natcher Parkway became an interstate highway. I always wanted an Interstate 67--a shortcut from Bowling Green to Indianapolis--but I'm fine with this one.

And, no, they didn't ask me, nor would they. Safe travels everyone.

Construction work on the Hartford interchange on I-165 is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.