FORT KNOX, Ky. – Once serving as the Fort Knox main gate, the installation’s only traffic circle is about to receive a significant update.
“It’s been the desire of some to create a more defined traffic pattern for vehicles for a couple of years,” said project manager John Wiseman, “and it’s finally happening.”
The circular intersection where Chaffee Avenue, Knox Street and Dixie Street all come together is considered an iconic historical point. Years before the U.S. Army was stationed here, it was the city center for the original town of Stithton.
Then in the 1930s, the first bricks were laid to form the main post gate, where they still remain today.
Those brick walls will stay in place along with the three tanks that passersby have come to recognize as distinctive sights on the circle, said Wiseman. However, the tanks will need to be temporarily relocated during the work.
Construction is slated to commence in mid-March and will include a variety of updates. Drivers can expect to be met with detours until its completion, a timeframe still to be determined.
“If [drivers] can avoid the area, it will benefit everyone,” said Wiseman. He explained a significant amount of traffic will be diverted down Eisenhower Avenue, Wilson Road and Spearhead Avenue.
Vehicles that require access to the area surrounding the circle will be detoured on Pershing Drive by the post office.
Plans for Stithton Circle include the addition of concrete islands to guide drivers to each side street, sidewalk work to improve access for pedestrians, and reconstruction of the South Knox Street connection and Abound Credit Union entrance.
Wiseman asked drivers to be patient throughout the construction process: “Hopefully, all will be happy with the newly renovated circle once the project is completed.”
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