The effort to ban tractor-trailers on Kentucky Route 547 is progressing in Campbell County.
The Campbell County Fiscal Court, the city of Alexandria, and the city of Silver Grove have all recently signed resolutions to help get tractor-trailers banned on KY Route 547. The effort to get those vehicles banned from that road stemmed from two Camp Springs residents, Mark Muench and Tom Ramler.
The pair addressed the Alexandria City Council
on June 5
regarding their concerns for safety on KY Route 547, also known as Four Mile Road and Riley Road, due to tractor-trailers driving over the yellow lines.
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The Campbell County Fiscal Court passed its resolution on July 16, and the Alexandria City Council passed it on July 17. The resolutions request that the transportation cabinet and the governor’s office consider the ban with an exception for local deliveries.
“This has been a topic of conversation here the last few years,” said Campbell County Administrator Matt Elberfeld at the July 16 meeting. “A lot of large trucks have been using KY 547 between U.S. 27 and Route 8 to cut through there.”
Elberfeld explained that there is a provision in the state highway regulations that allows municipalities to petition the transportation cabinet, and ultimately, the governor, to prohibit vehicles of “increased dimension” from using those roads. That information can be found in statute
603 KAR 5:070
.
“As a tractor-trailer driver for many years, I know that that road is not set up for that,” Alexandria Mayor Andy Schabell said at the July 17 meeting. “That’s not how it should be.”
According to the Alexandria resolution, the road was aligned in 1850 for a horse and wagon trail.
“That section has a number of vertical and horizontal changes in direction, in other words, hills and curves, which are difficult for vehicles with increased dimensions [vehicles like tractor trailers] to navigate,” Alexandria City Attorney Mike Duncan read from the resolution. “We have vehicles with increased dimensions crossing the double yellow line and pose a danger to those traveling on Kentucky 547.”
Muench was in attendance at the Alexandria Council meeting and thanked the council for their support. Muench said he and Ramler are still seeking letters of support to accompany the resolutions from Senator Shelley Funke Frommeyer, a Republican from Alexandria and Representative Mike Clines, a Republican from Alexandria.
Once those letters are together, Muench said they will work on a petition.
“After all that paperwork is together, then we’re going to ask the senator and representative to walk it to the governor and see if we get his support on it,” Muench said.
Should the ban be approved by the transportation cabinet and the governor’s office, signage would be placed on the roadways to alert semi-trucks of the change.
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