An improvement project at the intersection of State Road 66 and Epworth Road in Warrick County is inching closer to completion.
Proposed in March 2022, the Lloyd4U roadworks project is taking the form of a displaced left turn, the second in Indiana and a first for Evansville.
A displaced left turn involves a dedicated lane on the other side of the road, with a signal. Meanwhile, at a boulevard left turn (also known as a median U-turn), vehicles turning left drive through the intersection, make a U-turn, and then turn right.
According to the Indiana Department of Transportation, the project‘s primary purpose is to reduce the number of crashes at the intersection.
In an effort to acclimate residents to the new process, Lloyd4U held a public demonstration at Evansville Christian School on July 23 in conjunction with INDOT. Spearheaded by Lloyd4U Public Outreach Manager Nicole Minton, officials walked guests over a large printed map tarp, showcasing the intersection’s new traffic pattern and the steps necessary to navigate it safely.
“This was our idea to come up with this big tarp so everyone could come out and get a feel for how to navigate the intersection,” Minton says. “Generally, I feel like people have a better grasp of the concept after physically getting to move through it.”
Minton notes that in addition to improving safety, the implementation of displaced left turns will create better efficiency for east-west traffic while “doubling the amount of greenlight time for those turning left onto Epworth Road.”
Not all attendees at the July 23 walk-through were entirely convinced, however, suggesting that there could be a notable learning curve for drivers in the coming months.
“My concern is that people speed on the Lloyd, they run red lights, and they will turn left in all the places that they aren’t supposed to,” Evansville resident Donna Todd says. “I’m going to wait about a year to use the intersection until everybody has had their wrecks and learned their lesson.”
Gary Brian, Public Relations Director for INDOT Southwest, says that while the change is going to be a dramatic departure from more traditional left-turn traffic patterns, he hopes the demonstration was able to alleviate some of the concerns of the public.
“It seems a little hard to understand, and that’s why we have an event like this so people understand what we’re looking at,” Brian says.
Following the completion of Epworth Road’s displaced left turn, which is currently slated for August, Lloyd4U officials say plans are underway for the construction of three additional displaced left turns in the Evansville area. These projects will be located at intersections between the Lloyd Expressway and Burkhard Road, Cross Pointe Boulevard, and Red Bank Road.
