Home > Infrastructure   +   South

Kentucky earns national award for ‘left overloop’ interchange design

Kentucky earns national award for ‘left overloop’ interchange design

Frankfort, Ky. — Representatives for the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and Louisville-based Qk4 Inc. presented the prestigious ACEC Engineering Award of Excellence to Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) leaders during a ceremony in Frankfort for a roadway project that significantly improves safety and traffic flow in Lexington near the Keeneland Race Course.

ACEC Award presentation to the project team (left to right) Glen Kelly (Qk4 executive vice president), Taylor Kelly (Qk4 president), Russell Romine (ACEC-KY executive director), Andy Barber (KYTC state highway engineer), Kelly Baker (KYTC D7 chief district engineer), Rob Sprague (KYTC D7 project development branch manager), Joshua Samples (KYTC Versailles Road Interchange project manager) and Tony McGaha (not pictured- KYTC D7 project delivery and preservation branch manager.

The ACEC national award recognizes the innovative redesign of the Versailles Road (U.S. 60)/New Circle Road (KY 4) interchange in Lexington. Consulting on the project, Qk4 led roadway and bridge design, traffic engineering, community involvement and project management for the interchange. The project was recognized this year by ACEC as one of the nation’s most outstanding engineering achievements.

“This project truly deserves recognition and is an excellent example of Kentucky’s leadership in innovation and engineering,” said KYTC State Highway Engineer Andy Barber. “The project team solved a decades-old problem and created an aesthetically pleasing design that was below budget and sensitive to the needs of the community and the Commonwealth.”

Qk4’s design incorporated a first-of-its-kind “left overloop” that transformed a previous right-turn loop into a left-turn overpass. The unique design resolved safety issues at the interchange, where traffic crashes had occurred regularly. It also offered a cost-effective solution that was below the original budget and avoided impacts to nearby Calumet Farm.

“We thank ACEC for recognizing KYTC and Qk4 for this one-of-a-kind project,” said Glen Kelly, executive vice president of Qk4. “We were honored to collaborate with KYTC and its District 7 office in Lexington to build a better and safer roadway. As a Kentucky firm, Qk4 appreciates the natural beauty of the Bluegrass region and the importance of its aesthetics to citizens and visitors.”

The Versailles Road interchange left overloop is the second Kentucky project to receive a national ACEC Engineering Award of Excellence honor since the cable-stayed William H. Harsha Bridge in Maysville won the top prize in 2001.