All lanes will be open at Man O’War and Versailles, alternate entrances planned
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 3, 2013) – Officials from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the city of Lexington and Keeneland have been collaborating to reduce the impact of the US60/Versailles Road construction project during the spring meet that begins Friday.
The construction project, headed by the KYTC, was initiated in March and is expected to continue for 10 months.
“This is an important project that once completed will be a significant improvement along a busy corridor,” said Mike Hancock, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary. “We also recognize the significance of Keeneland and appreciate their efforts, along with the city of Lexington, to mitigate the impact during this busy race meeting.”
“We’ll ramp up our efforts along the route to help traffic move in and out of Keeneland in the same way we move people in and out of Commonwealth and Rupp Arena,” said Lexington Police Chief Ronnie Bastin. “We’ll also be recommending alternate routes to keep traffic moving. Keeneland is very important to our community and we want our citizens and visitors to have a positive experience. There will be delays, but we’ll do our best to minimize them.”
Solutions to mitigate the impact of the construction include:
♦ Opening all lanes at the intersection of Man O’ War Blvd. and Versailles Road by Friday, April 5 to allow traffic to flow more freely into Gate 1 for the free and tailgate parking areas.
♦ Opening alternate entrances to Keeneland. Van Meter Road is an alternate entrance for free and tailgate parking for people coming from New Circle Road. Old Frankfort Pike to Rice Road is an alternate entrance for people traveling from Woodford County and Northern Fayette County.
♦ Additional personnel along all routes to more efficiently manage the traffic flow.
♦ Additional signage along all routes to inform motorists of possible delays and alternate routes.
♦ Onsite team of traffic engineers on Fridays and Saturdays to help monitor the flow of traffic and offer immediate adjustments in real-time where possible.
“From Keeneland’s standpoint, our commitment to giving our fans an outstanding experience at the races remains our top priority,” said Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason. “I am confident fans will have a great time at Keeneland because our staff goes above and beyond in every situation to ensure an exceptional experience for everyone. That’s the Keeneland way. From the fans’ standpoint, we suggest arriving a little earlier, staying a little later, carpool if you can, and just be patient.”
Among the other enhancements Keeneland is making for fans this meeting:
♦ A new and improved tailgate experience on Saturdays that includes live music, food trucks, wagering, a jumbo video screen to watch the races and free shuttle service from the tailgate lot to the grandstand area.
♦ Lextran, Lexington’s public transportation system, will offer shuttle service to Keeneland throughout the day from various locations including its downtown hub, the Hyatt Regency. Everyone who rides the Lextran shuttle to Keeneland will receive a $2 food voucher.
♦ New Friday Happy Hours in the Mezzanine Bar to encourage fans to remain after the races.
♦ On Toyota Blue Grass Stakes Day – Saturday, April 13 – Keeneland will partner with Lextran and the University of Kentucky to offer shuttle service from Commonwealth Stadium to Keeneland. Fans can park at Commonwealth, take the shuttle to Keeneland for the race day and return to Commonwealth on the shuttle in time for the 7 p.m. kick off.
The KYTC has a special twitter account with updates of the US60/Versailles Road construction. Fans can get the updates by following www.twitter.com/VersaillesRoad.
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