North New Circle Road is being redesigned as part of the Imagine New Circle Road project that aims to improve safety and connectivity for all. The project area encompasses a 1.8-mile-long segment of New Circle Road, from Development Drive to Bryan Station Road and will have an impact on the Castlewood, Bryan Station, Elkhorn Park, Green Acres, Hollow Creek, and Breckenridge neighborhoods in northeast Lexington.
“The North New Circle Road project is an important collaboration between the City of Lexington and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to significantly reduce fatal and serious injury crashes on one of the highest crash corridors in Fayette County,” said Chris Evilia, MPO Director & Transportation Planning Manager. “In addition to addressing the safety concerns, this effort aims to redesign the roadway to better serve the needs of local residents and ensure that all persons can utilize and cross New Circle safely and comfortably. Our goal is to produce a roadway design consistent with the vision identified by Lexington residents within the Imagine New Circle Road study completed in 2022 and incorporated within the Imagine Lexington 2045 Plan.”
Interested community members can learn more about the project and provide feedback at an upcoming public meeting set for 4:30-7 p.m., Thursday, November 6, at Northern Elementary, 340 Rookwood Parkway. The meeting will be held in an “open house” style, meaning residents can choose to arrive at any time during the meeting and remain for as long as they prefer. At the open house, the project team will share information about the project, answer questions, and accept public comments about the redesign.
In 2023, the Lexington-Fayette Safety Action Plan identified North New Circle Road as a roadway with high rates of severe injury crashes and pedestrian-involved crashes. According to the Safety Action Plan, there were 2,282 significant crashes on this segment of New Circle Road from 2015 to 2021. Even though much of New Circle Road is separated from local traffic and functions as a freeway, the section of New Circle Road within the project area runs alongside neighborhoods and businesses, exposing pedestrians to high-speed traffic.
