Local officials again asking for help the state transportation cabinet, who says big signage is on the way
Nine accidents major accidents have occurred at the ramp that carries motorists from northbound I-69 to the U.S. 41-Strip since it opened in October, according to the city of Henderson’s public relations director who retrieved the information from Henderson 911 Dispatch.
Recently, a wreck occurred there on March 29. A week later, this past Saturday, another occurred. Both involved tractor-trailers. The most recent was reportedly hauling Bibles.
Holli Blanford, the city’s public relations director, said the nine cited represent the major accidents in which vehicles have flipped or gone over the embankment. There have been more less serious accidents, she said.
The accidents have become so common that locals—even emergency officials and some media—have begun reporting the accidents as occurring at “the Curve,” a moniker that has become an accepted description in Henderson’s local vernacular.
After Saturday’s most recent wreck, a satirical Facebook page dedicated to the Curve popped up. Its title: “Truck-Eating Curve of Henderson, Kentucky.”
The intro on its Facebook page: “I’m the infamous truck-eating curve of Henderson, Ky. If you disobey my speed limit, I will tip you.”
Chuckles aside, Hendersonians are frustrated about the curve and on social media are demanding it to be redesigned. In a past Hendersonian article, state transportation cabinet officials said there would be no redesign.
Also in previous articles, Henderson Mayor Brad Staton did not hide his displeasure about the Curve and the problems it has caused. He voiced similar sentiments Monday following the most recent wreck at the Curve.
“To say I’m disappointed in the amount of accidents at the curve would certainly be an understatement,” Staton texted the Hendersonian. “The state has blanketed the area with warning signs. Our local police department has stepped up enforcement in this area in a big way. Nothing we can do at the local level is seeming to help. Our citizens cannot be expected to deal with frequent, quarter-day traffic interruptions any longer. We need for the state to come to the table with some solutions, and fast.”
Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider said he contacted transportation cabinet officials over the weekend and is expecting to hear from them soon. His message was simple, he said, asking what can be done and can local and state officials work together to find a solution.
Most of the accidents at the Curve have involved tractor-trailers and when those overturn, he said, it takes three, four or five hours to get them back up and out of the roadway. Meanwhile, traffic backs up south into the county and that gridlock could cause problems if emergency situations were to happen, Schneider said.
Transportation cabinet officials say a large overhead sign is in production now and should be in place hopefully “later this spring,” said Mindy Peterson, the spokesperson for the I-69 Ohio River Crossing.
In a previous Hendersonian article, officials said the sign will be placed just past Canoe Creek and will span all lanes of northbound traffic. It will measure 15 ½ feet tall and 17 ½ feet wide and its bottom edge will stand at least 17 feet from the ground, according to the article.
Peterson said the sign is a specialized sign, manufactured specifically for the place where it will stand. Getting the sign finished is taking time because of the specificity, she said, adding state officials put in a call Monday to the manufacturer to ask that the sign’s completion be expedited.
Peterson said state officials hope that the large sign with flashing beacons will get drivers’ attention.
Additionally, in a related issue, state transportation cabinet officials released an image of the final U.S. 41 interchange in March. When the final interchange is complete, the curve will be straightened out and end at a stop where vehicles can then turn onto an extended U.S. 41. (See image below)
Peterson said a decision about putting a sign or a signal at that controlled stop will be made by the design team and will be a part of the contract to complete Section 2, which includes the construction of the bridge to connect the Kentucky side with the Indiana side. The final U.S. 41 interchange isn’t expected to be complete until Section 2 is complete, which is currently scheduled for 2031, Peterson said.
Peterson said a final configuration with a controlled stop had always been in the plans and did not come about because of the recent wrecks on the Curve.
