Kentucky Route 180


Kentucky Route 180 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It serves as a connector route between US 60 and KY 3. It is two lanes from KY 3 to just south of I-64 and four lanes divided from just south of I-64 to US 60.

Route description

KY 180 originates at a junction with KY 3 in a rural area of Boyd County. It travels northward for a few tenths of a mile and widens from two lanes to four lanes. It passes by a subdivision on the left and a truck stop on the right before forming a junction with I-64 north of KY 3. North of the interstate KY 180 curves toward the northwest and then back towards the north forming a junction with KY 3291 and passing by Boyd County High School. KY 180 ends at a junction with US 60/KY 3294 north of I-64.

History

The alignment from Interstate 64 to US 60 was constructed in the 1970s as part of an upgrade that included US 60 that would act as an urban penetrator from Interstate 64 to Ashland, Kentucky. KY 180's former two-lane highway is now known as KY 3291 which ends at its intersection with Kentucky Route 3294 in the Ashland suburb of Cannonsburg.
The Interstate 64 interchange previously featured higher-than-average accident levels. The four-lane divided highway narrowed from four lanes to two just shy of the interchange. Coupled with a sub-standard ramp system for Interstate 64 that featured short and steep ramps, and a loop that was not controlled by a traffic signal, it produced terrible consequences. Due to the increased volume, the interchange was reconstructed as a conventional diamond, and KY 180 was widened to four lanes divided from its present four-lane terminus to just shy of KY 3, its southern terminus. This project was completed in October 2008.

Major intersections