Named after former Mayor Russell Lloyd, the Lloyd Expressway is undergoing changes. According to TheLloyd4U web page, the planning began during the summer of 2020, and construction started earlier this spring.
Nicole Minton, public outreach manager for Lochmueller Group, a civil engineering company, said the project is big.
“We’ve got $150 million worth of investments that are coming to the Lloyd Expressway and those are being done over the next several years, to be completed by 2028,” Minton said.
She explained what projects drivers can look out for on the westside.
“On the west side, we’re going all the way down to dirt with complete pavement replacement, bridge replacements, intersection improvements, so there will be a lot of construction going on over the next several years,” she said.
Minton said people can sign up for email and text updates to be notified of construction updates.
“As we have lane changes and things are in flux, we want people to be notified when that’s happening,” she said. “So if you need to leave a little sooner to get to where you’re going, you know that you need to take a little extra time or maybe try an alternate route.”
TheLloyd4U web page also shows improvements for the west side of the Lloyd, including improvement in traffic flow and efficient drive time. TheLloyd4U project plans to do this through a hybrid solution that uses two intersection types known as boulevard and displaced left turns.
An improvement closer to USI campus is the Red Bank Road intersection.
According to TheLloyd4U website, it’s also considering heavy commercial corridors to help businesses with heavy load shipping, same lane configuration for the Red Bank Road both north and southbound, and getting high volume left turns.
The University Parkway will also be impacted at some point due to pavement replacements. Meaning all entrances and exits connecting the parkway to the expressway will be under construction sooner or later.
“It’s just really important that people practice safe driving. Put your seatbelt on, put your phone down, and pay attention when you’re in construction zones that you’re looking for the signs,” Minton said. “What you thought you would have needed to do might have been based on yesterday’s signs, and if you’re not paying attention and looking for changes today, you might miss something important that could lead to a crash that hurts yourself or hurts one of the construction crew.”