LG&E and KU explains lengthy road closure due to downed power lines

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A road closure Thursday night stretched into Friday morning, making many people’s drive into work a bit difficult.

A big stretch of Newtown Pike was closed for more than 12 hours due to downed power lines.

Daniel Lowry with Kentucky Utilities said it all started when a tree fell and damaged several of their utility poles.

“It was a mess overnight,” said Lowry.

Around 6 p.m. on Thursday, a severe storm brought damaging winds.

Lowry said that when the tree fell, it snapped three of their utility poles. Nearly 400 people lost power.

“We had equipment that we had to replace and repair on several poles.”

Lowry said that when a power line goes down, it’s not just about resetting the pole, which can take several hours; they also have to fix what’s on the pole, like the transformer.

“It was tough for us,” said Lowry. “It was tough for everybody involved, but our crews worked hard to work as safely and as quickly as possible to restore power.”

This explains, Lowry said, the more than 12-hour road closure on Newtown Pike near Citation Boulevard.

He said their crews worked nonstop.

“We had at least four crews busy overnight. Each of those crews have at least four people.”

Lowry said telecommunications companies also had to repair their phone and internet cables.

In May, KU announced a list of system upgrades it is preparing to make, including replacing some of its wooden poles with steel.

“It’s a significant investment. We’ve been doing that to be able to harden our system to make it tougher.”

Lowry said while their crews were out working they saw a lot of people driving around cones and barriers. He said to use this as a good example for when something like this happens to heed all traffic warnings. ,