FLORENCE, Ky. — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has a plan to reduce a section of Dixie Highway from four lanes to three, a move state officials say will improve safety.
But some local business owners are concerned about traffic and the impact of the plan on their businesses.
The proposed configuration would affect Dixie Highway from Turfway Road to Commonwealth Avenue, converting the road into one lane in each direction with a center turn lane.
Bob Yeager, chief district engineer for KYTC District 6, said this road diet configuration would reduce crashes. He said there have been 640 crashes reported along this corridor in the last five years.
"We are removing the travel portion of the roadway four feet away from the sidewalk and four feet away from the utility poles, which have also been struck because they're right between the sidewalk and the pavement," Yeager said.
WATCH: How the proposed configuration could reduce crashes
Nancy Holian is the owner of Holian Granite and Bronze, which has been located along the Dixie Highway corridor for about 40 years.
"Where we are, there's accidents nearly every week," Holian said. "It's just it's frightful."
While state officials say the change could make the road safer, some local businesses worry it could slow down traffic and deter customers.
"We were so surprised with no notification that they're trying to do one lane each way, in a center turn lane. I just can't even imagine what that's going to be, and my concern is that people are going to say we're not going that way," Holian said.
KYTC will host a public meeting Tuesday inside the Elsmere City Building from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to hear from the community. WCPO plans to be at the meeting and will update this story with more information.
"(The community wants) to be involved, and they would like to know why we're doing this and how we're doing this and how it's going to impact them," Yeager said.
More information can be found here.
