WQXE News
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is reminding motorists to help protect themselves, their families, and their neighbors by using caution when driving through work zones as National Work Zone Awareness Week is recognized this week.
According to the KYTC, in 2023 Kentucky recorded 1,251 crashes in highway work zones which resulted in 247 injuries and 17 deaths, nearly triple the number of fatalities from the year prior.
KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie says the most important thing for a driver to do when on the road is pay attention.
“One of the main challenges in operating a work zone is distracted driving, and that’s not really anything new, and the phone continues to be that primary distracting factor for vehicle operators,” Jessie said.
The KYTC continues to try to implement safety measures in work zones, which come in many forms.
“The zones aren’t just those obvious big projects like we have going on at the interchange at Glendale or north of Lebanon Junction on I-65, but they’re mowing, they are striping when we’re repainting the road, patching a pothole, or replacing a pipe underneath,” Jessie said “So put that phone down, slow down, and pay attention to work zone signage. That’s for the safety of our crew that is out there working and our contractors, as well as your own as a motorist.”
Visit the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on the web to learn more.
The deadline for Kentucky voters to register for the May 21 primary election is less than a week away.
“April 22 at 4 p.m.,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith. “That is the deadline to register to vote to participate in the May primary, so we want to make sure, especially the folks who have newly moved here to Hardin County, and we see that a lot in our growing community, come on in and register to vote.”
The April 22 deadline is for new registrations, as previously-existing registrations had to be set to their current party affiliation by December 31.
Smith says if you are eligible to register, come on down.
“You can stop by the clerk’s office, you can do it at govote.ky.gov, or you can call our office at 270-765-6762,” Smith said.
Smith says with 2024 being a presidential election year a larger turnout is expected, so the county is preparing by adding extra machines to larger voting locations and expanding options.
“Last year we had 12 locations,” Smith said. “We’ve expanded to 15 to kind of fill in some of the gaps in our community where we felt like we needed to add additional locations to make it easier for folks to vote. The three new ones are Cecilia Valley, Heartland Elementary, and then Glendale Christian Church.”
Visit www.govote.ky.gov for more election information.