Southtown Stoplight: Use Caution on Your Next Trip Down Southtown

I have heard a lot of talk about road construction around the area lately. There are several areas of Owensboro that are currently a little maze like due to the construction. While the construction may be annoying while it is going on, it is usually for the best.

One of the recent construction projects I remember hearing about being a major pain while the construction was going on was Southtown Boulevard from Frederica Street going west. Well thankfully, the construction in that area is complete!

However, one change that was made to this area involved the intersection/ stoplight at Southtown and Frederica. While the new lane set up is very beneficial, the stoplight at the intersection does not operate as it used to.

Going north and south on Frederica, the light pattern is still the same, but going east and west there has been a major change. Both lanes going east and west now turn their respective left turns at the same time (as it is with most lights). Then the light changes, allowing both east and west lanes to go straight at the same time.

This can be very confusing if you don’t know about the change and you aren’t watching the light. Before the construction, once the north/south light turned red, the east bound light (going towards Wal-Mart) would go green for both left turns and vehicles going straight. Once the eastbound light turned red, the westbound (going toward Townesquare Mall) light would go green for both left turns and vehicles going straight.

I actually like the change. It doesn’t really doesn’t increase or decrease wait times, but too me it just seems like a smoother transition. However, it is not always a smooth transition when other drivers don’t notice that the pattern has changed. I have been at the light on at least 2 different occasions and when the light turned green for me to turn off Southtown, someone in the opposite lane would start going straight. I have been sitting on Frederica and at businesses in the area and seen this happen on numerous occasions to other drivers.

So my word of warning, when approaching the light at Southtown and Frederica, use extra caution. This new pattern for the light is something that we will all have to get used to. Plus it is always a good idea to use a little extra caution when approaching an intersection (not just this one).

I hope everyone has a great and SAFE weekend!