A signal light on Everly Brothers Boulevard in Central City has been changed following a fatal wreck in April that took the life of a one-year-old infant. At the intersection of U.S. 62/Everly Brothers and the entrance to Walmart, a left-turn signal has been changed after complaints from locals, and a transportation cabinet study.
There is no longer an option to turn left on a flashing yellow arrow, and instead drivers must wait for the arrow to turn green.
KYTC provided a statement about the change, saying a series of engineering studies were conducted in 2016, and determined the need for a left-turn signal at the intersection. At that time, the KYTC installed an additional signal head that provided red, yellow and green arrows.
“A green arrow would light for protected left turns, and a yellow arrow would flash when left turns were allowed with no oncoming traffic,” the statement from KYTC said. “At the request of local officials, KYTC recently conducted updated studies for the left-turn movements and determined that only a solid green arrow for protected left turns is warranted. The change to remove the flashing yellow phase was implemented in May.”
Muhlenberg County Judge/Executive Mack McGehee said he reached out to the KYTC engineer who oversees the area immediately after the wreck on April 28. He said it was the second fatal accident at that location in less than six months, the first occurring on Dec. 24, 2022.
“A lot of people contacted me,” McGehee said. “It’s confusing to a lot of people. They see the flashing yellow and think they have time to get through it.” He said the transportation cabinet responded quickly to the request.
The flashing yellow arrow may be mistaken for signals that go from green to yellow to red, and leave drivers unaware of the green light available to oncoming traffic.
Rep. Rebecca Raymer had also heard from constituents about the intersection, expressing their concerns and questioning if the light was a contributing factor in the fatal accidents at the intersection. She passed those concerns along to the KYTC as well.
Flashing yellow left-turn arrows are still employed at the intersection of Everly Brothers Boulevard and Second Street in Central City, and are becoming commonplace around the state.
