WQXE NEWS

Road conditions across the area remain in poor condition after a weekend rainfall event that resulted in widespread flooding gave way to a winter weather event.

Meteorologist Mark Jarvis with the National Weather Service in Louisville says the rainfall over the weekend was significant.

“The Kentucky Mesonet site in Cecilia, they had 4.66 inches of rainfall for the event, and down in Hodgenville we’ve had 5.12 inches, and down in the Leitchfield area 5.26 inches, so across Hardin County 4 to 5 inches fell in this rainstorm,” Jarvis said.

Amy Inman with the City of Elizabethtown says city crews have been out throughout the rain to assess road conditions and flood-prone areas.

“Several streets are closed currently,” Inman said. “As of 6 a.m. this morning, Nicholas Spring Court, Hawkins Drive, Peterson Drive, and Gather Station Road all are closed.”

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 4 has updated the High Water List of state roadways with blockages, which can be found by accessing the general map on the KYTC website. As of 8 a.m. Sunday the list includes:

Breckinridge County:
-KY 690 Mile Markers 16-17
-KY 333 Mile Markers 10-11

Grayson County:
-KY 185 Mile Markers 0-1
-KY 878 Mile Markers 2-3
-KY 2766 Mile Markers 2-3

Green County:
-KY 61 Mile Markers 1-2
-KY 1464 Mile Markers 3-4

Hardin County:
-US 31W Mile Markers 7-8 (Between Sonora and Glendale)
-KY 84 in Mile Markers 24-25 (In Sonora near Cherry Blossom Subdivision)
-KY 567 Mile Markers 2-4 (Near Valley Creek Fire Department)
-KY 1136 Mile Markers 2-3 (Near Gilead Baptist Church)

Hart County:
-KY 218 Mile Markers 8-9 (East side of Horse Cave)
-KY 566 Mile Markers 2-4 (Lynn Camp/Green River)
-KY 570 Mile Markers 4-5 (Between Monroe and Pascal)
-KY 728 Multiple Locations Mile Markers 11-20
-KY 1140 Mile Markers 7-8 (Just north of KY 728)
-KY 2785 Milepoint 2.5 (Near the KY 357 end)

LaRue County:
-KY 222 Mile Markers 4-5
-KY 224 Mile Markers 4-5
-KY 470 Mile Markers 6-8
-KY 462 Milepoint 9.7 (Nelson County Line)
-KY 2217 Mile Markers 0-1

Marion County:
-KY 49 Mile Markers 6-7
-KY 49 Mile Markers 16-17
-KY 412 Mile Markers 12-14
-KY 1157 Mile markers 2-3

Meade County:
-KY 333 Mile Markers 0-1

Nelson County:
-US 62 Mile Markers 4-5
-KY 49 Mile Markers 4-5
-KY 52 Mile Markers 1-3 (Closed between US 62 and Bluegrass Parkway due to a slide)
-KY 162 Mile Markers 3-5
-KY 247 Mile Markers 6-7

As the rain subsided, a Flood Watch from the National Weather Service gave way to a Winter Weather Advisory.

“We’ve had a band of snow that was moving through the region this morning,” Jarvis said. “That snow is tapering off across Hardin County as we speak. It should be diminishing quite rapidly and be gone by noon time.”

Because many roads were unable to be treated ahead of the snow, road conditions across the area are poor and local officials are advising residents to stay home if they can. Jarvis says road conditions should improve once the snow stops and temperatures remain above freezing the rest of the day, but more winter weather could be on the way.

“We could see some additional snow showers this evening and overnight,” Jarvis said. “Temperatures overnight are going to drop into the teens and lower 20, so any residual water on road surfaces and untreated roads across the county may refreeze tonight, and we may have areas of black ice for the Monday morning commute.”

Keep an eye on the forecast and follow local municipalities on social media for the latest updates, use extra caution if you head out onto the roadways, and never attempt to drive across a flooded roadway. Turn around, don’t drown.

Greenspace President David Haines told the Elizabethtown City Council Monday that about two years ago the organization decided to develop a master plan for trails in Elizabethtown.

“We started to evolve more towards a transportation purpose, and we ended up on a place where we realized that the best way to serve our trails is to better connect our community and our neighborhoods to those trails,” Haines said.

Greenspace hired engineering firm Gresham Smith, and they are “about three months into the process of coming up with a bike/pedestrian master plan” for the city.

Haines said an important step in the process is coming up on February 27.

“It’s going to be the first day for public engagement here at Pritchard Community Center and there’s going to be a series of meetings,” Haines said. “One for the project advisory committee, one for a stakeholder group that was identified and includes city leaders, business leaders, tourism, and user groups to kind of start getting ramped up on the bike pedestrian plan, where it’s at, giving input.”

Those meetings will be followed by a public engagement session and the launch of a website for the collection of feedback. Haines said the goal is to identify what the city has and what it needs going forward.

“What I told Gresham Smith is what I would like is a top three or five high-priority, high-payoff street projects that the city can look at and budget for in the next five to ten years,” Haines said. “That makes sense, and then beyond that a best practices manual that incorporates what they did with Complete Streets, but tailors it a little bit more towards Elizabethtown.”

Contact Greenspace for more information.

Baptist Health Hardin President Rob Ramey says the hospital and health system is still “building for a bright future” following the opening of the new medical pavilion at the hospital. That includes the opening of new facilities in Elizabethtown and Nelson County and evaluating new uses for properties that saw their facilities moved to the medical pavilion.

“We’ve moved a lot of things out, so it gives us a chance now to continue to assess and grow to meet our patients’ needs, but even more importantly, make it more accessible, make it easier for our patients,” Ramey said.

Ramey was the featured speaker at the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s February luncheon Wednesday. He says Baptist Health Hardin provides services to more than 400,000 patients, which is equal to one-tenth of the state’s population. Ramey says serving the fastest-growing region in the state means adapting to the needs of a rapidly changing population.

“If we can’t provide the service well, we’re not going to provide the service,” Ramey said. “We’re going to recruit excellent physicians. We’re going to provide the right care team around them to make sure that we’re providing an excellent service, which is why we’re glad and proud that we’ve been able to grow to provide all of these services within our hospital.”

Ramey touted innovative technology available at the hospital, including a 4D mammography clinical trial in partnership with Duke University and Calidar Inc. and three new cardiac catheterization labs. Ramey asked Dr. Aaron Mulhall to discuss the hospital’s ion bronchoscopy technology, which uses a 2 millimeter camera to check for lung cancer less invasively and more effectively.

“One out of five Kentuckians still smoke, so it’s like 17 to 20 percent,” Mulhall said. “We had the most cases of lung cancer in the United States last year and we’re still one of the worst in mortality, so for five-year survival we’re in the bottom, I think, five or six still.”

Ramey said the hospital has 300 certified beds, including 15 specifically designated for behavioral health.