HENDERSON, Ky.– A $4 million highway safety project along the U.S. 41 corridor in Henderson is scheduled to open today, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. The pair of Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUTs), located just south of the Twin Bridges, will open about a week ahead of schedule, according to a news release.
RCUTs are designed to reduce or eliminate left-hand turns that see vehicles from side roads crossing the paths of two or more oncoming lanes of traffic on the main roadway. Rather directly cross oncoming traffic, vehicles exiting Wolf Hills Road and Stratman Road that are looking to make a left-hand turn will first turn right, then utilize a U-turn lane to make a left turn and merge with traffic on U.S. 41. This new traffic flow reduces the chances of dangerous high speed side-impact crashes, commonly referred to as “T-bone crashes.”
Between 2019 and 2022, 94 crashes were recorded at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Wolf Hills Road, with five resulting in serious injury or death. On average, around 1,200 vehicles exit Wolf Hills Road onto U.S. 41 daily, with another 600 coming from Stratman Road.
RCUTs are being incorporated more often in highway projects today to promote a freer and safer traffic flow. A review of a RCUT installed by KYTC on U.S. 68 in Trigg County recently showed a 64.5% decrease in total crashes since the RCUT was completed and a 71% decrease in injuries – exceeding benefits found in a national study, which showed RCUTs reduced crashes by 54% on average.
The Twin Bridges serve as the primary connection between northwest Kentucky and southern Indiana, with over 41,000 vehicles using them to cross the Ohio River each day. An investigation of motor vehicle crashes found that the intersection of U.S. 41 and Wolf Hills Road/Stratman Road, located between the 18.1 and 18.9-mile points, has recorded a higher-than-normal number of fatal and serious injury crashes during the last five years.
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