State officials: No traffic light until expo center built

Despite calls from city officials of its necessity, officials with the state’s Transportation Cabinet have determined that a traffic signal at the entrance of 5,500 seat exposition center in south Corbin is not currently necessary.
Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney said engineers with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s District 11 Office in Manchester, which cover’s Whitley County, informed him last week that they had completed studies regarding the necessity of a traffic light at the location.
“They did two studies, a traffic flow study and they did an accident study,” he said. “They told me that there wasn’t enough traffic there right now to install a light and that there had only been two accidents there in the last two years.”
City officials had been hoping for a traffic light in advance of completion of the Southeast Kentucky Agricultural and Exposition Center. Construction is tentatively scheduled to be complete next March. McBurney said he feels traffic generated from the $19 million facility will warrant a signal.
“We wanted to avoid problems and thought it would be best to have one in place before it opened so that people had enough time to get used to it,” McBurney said. “The engineers said that we would probably get a light after the expo center is built. I disagree with their opinion, but they are the experts on this stuff.”
McBurney said at times, traffic on Cumberland Falls Hwy. can become heavy. Those trying to turn into or out of the entrance, or the entrance to Baptist Regional Medical Center just across the road, could be put in a precarious position, or could have long wait times.
“We will keep working on it, but right now it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen.”
McBurney added that city resources would be used to help alleviate any dangerous situations during well-attended events shortly after the center opens.