View source for Man o' War Boulevard

{{Short description|Major street in Lexington, Kentucky, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}}

{{Infobox street
|marker_image=
|name = Man o' War Boulevard
|image= ManOWarBlvd.JPG
|caption= A foggy morning on Man o' War Boulevard
|length_mi = 16.76
|length_ref =
|direction_a=West
|terminus_a= {{jct|state=KY|US|60|name1=Versailles Road|road|Keeneland Boulevard}}
|direction_b=East
|terminus_b= {{jct|state=KY|US|60|name1=Winchester Road}}
|completion_date = 1988
| inauguration_date = 1975
|junction={{jct|state=KY|US|68|name1=Harrodsburg Road}}<br>
{{jct|state=KY|US|27|name1=Nicholasville Road}}<br>
{{jct|state=KY|US|25|US|421|name1=Richmond Road}}<br>
{{jct|state=KY|I|75}}|location=[[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]]}}

'''Man o' War Boulevard''', named after the racehorse [[Man o' War]],<ref name="HorseStreetNames">{{cite book |last= Goode |first= Kristin |title= Thoroughbred Thoroughfares |pages= 26–31 |publisher= Smiley Pete Publishing |year= 2007 }}</ref> is an almost 17-mile (27&nbsp;km) [[Urban area|urban]] [[arterial (road)|arterial]], circling [[Lexington, Kentucky]] to its south. Its western terminus is at [[U.S. Route 60 in Kentucky|US 60]] (Versailles Road) / Keeneland Boulevard at [[Keeneland Race Course|Keeneland Race Course's]] main entrance, from which the highway heads southeast, intersecting with [[U.S. Route 68 in Kentucky|US 68]] (Harrodsburg Road), [[U.S. Route 27 in Kentucky|US 27]] (Nicholasville Road), and other roads. It then turns east and northeast, intersecting [[Kentucky Route 1974|KY 1974]] (Tates Creek Road), [[U.S. Route 25 in Kentucky|US 25]]/[[U.S. Route 421 in Kentucky|US 421]] (Richmond Road), and [[Interstate 75 in Kentucky|I-75]], before ending at [[U.S. Route 60 in Kentucky|US 60]] (Winchester Road) at [[Brighton, Lexington, Kentucky|Brighton]]. The majority of the road is a four-lane [[divided highway]] with [[curb]]s and [[sidewalk]]s maintained by the [[Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government]], but the 1.429-mile (2.300&nbsp;km) portion east of I-75 is maintained by the [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] as Supplemental Road '''Kentucky Route 1425''' (KY 1425),<ref name=KYTC>{{cite report|author=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet|author-link=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet|url=http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/reports/SPRS_listings/listings/fayette.pdf |title=Fayette County State Primary Road System |date=September 4, 2007 |location=Frankfort |publisher=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615103259/http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/reports/SPRS_listings/listings/fayette.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2007 }}</ref> and only carries two lanes.<ref>[[Google Maps]] satellite imagery, accessed September 2007{{full citation needed|date=December 2015}}</ref>

== History ==
The idea of an outer southern bypass of Lexington first appeared in Lexington city plans in the 1930s as Tiverton Way.<ref name=Dissatisfied>{{cite news |url= http://kentucky.com/211/story/106355.html/ |title= Nearly 19 Years Later, Many Still Dissatisfied with Man o' War |first= Jim |last= Warren |newspaper= [[Lexington Herald-Leader]] |date= June 23, 2007 |access-date= June 23, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070630005358/http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/106355.html/  |archive-date= June 30, 2007}}</ref> However, construction did
not begin on the road until 1973.<ref name="miller">{{cite news |last= Miller |first= John Winn |title= City Starts Man o' War Extension Effort |work= Lexington Herald-Leader |date= August 15, 1986}}</ref> The following year, the road was renamed Man o' War Boulevard.<ref name=Dissatisfied/> The first stretch of Man o' War, between [[U.S. Route 25 in Kentucky|US 25]]/[[U.S. Route 421 in Kentucky|US 421]](Richmond Road) and Palumbo Drive, opened as a two-lane road in 1975.<ref name=Dissatisfied/> In 1979, the highway was completed between Mount Tabor Road, now known as Alumni Drive, and Armstrong Mill Road.<ref name="Traffic">{{cite news |title= Traffic! |publisher=Lexington |date= July 1980 |first= Susan |last= White }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2015}}</ref> By November 1983, it was completed to [[Kentucky Route 1974|KY 1974]] (Tates Creek Road) and extended to [[U.S. Route 27|US 27]] (Nicholasville Road) one year later.<ref name="HL_012785">{{cite news |last= Davis |first= Merlene |title= Several Projects Helping to Ease Area's Traffic Woes |work= Lexington Herald-Leader |date= January 27, 1985}}</ref> In January 1985, Man o' War had been extended to Bold Bidder Drive and work was beginning on a segment to extend the road to [[Kentucky Route 1927|KY 1927]] (Liberty Road / Todds Road).<ref name="HL_012785"/>

By 1986, it stretched from [[U.S. Route 68|US 68]] (Harrodsburg Road) to Armstrong Mill Road, a distance of a little over 10 miles (16&nbsp;km).<ref name="HL_012785"/> The entire facility was four-lanes divided by a raised grass median, except for the segment from Palumbo Drive to the terminus at Armstrong Mill Road, where it was two-lanes with turning lanes on four-lane right-of-way; that portion of Man o' War was widened in 1987 for $3.3 million.<ref name="HL_012785"/>

The 2.4 mile (4&nbsp;km) section from Armstrong Mill Road to [[Interstate 75 in Kentucky|Interstate 75]] would be one of the costliest segments of the highway to be constructed, as it would feature an interchange at the interstate that was projected to cost $8.2 million.<ref name="miller"/> The right-of-way purchase from Palumbo Drive to Interstate 75 began in August 1986; construction was completed two years later. The alignment chosen followed south of KY 1927 east of Armstrong Mill Road, then cross to the north side of Bryant Road and interchange with Interstate 75 approximately 200 feet north of the Bryant Road overpass.

The completion of the final segment of the seven total<ref name="HL_012785"/> signaled the end of road work along Man o' War Boulevard. It was completed at a cost of $45 million, and was jointly constructed by the [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] and the [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government]].

When Man o' War Boulevard opened, it featured a 50&nbsp;mph (80&nbsp;km/h) speed limit and only a handful of traffic lights. With the southward expansion of suburban development since the 1980s, the number of traffic lights has dramatically increased. It now hosts a 45&nbsp;mph (70&nbsp;km/h) speed limit for most of its length, with the exception of [[Kentucky Route 1968|KY 1968 (Parkers Mill Road)]] west to its western terminus.

From [[Kentucky Route 1927|KY 1927]] (Liberty Road / Todds Road) east to I-75, Man o' War Boulevard paralleled and replaced the existing KY 1425 (Bryant Road).<ref>{{cite map |author= Rand McNally |author-link= Rand McNally |title= Road Atlas: United States/Canada/Mexico |year= 1988 |location= Chicago |publisher= Rand McNally }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2015}}</ref> The 0.987 miles (1.588&nbsp;km) of KY 1927 west of I-75 were transferred to the county on July 6, 1990. Since then, the KYTC has renamed its remaining portion of Bryant Road to Man o' War Boulevard, but it remains a Supplemental Road, the lowest class of state highway, despite its increased importance.<ref name=KYTC/><ref>{{cite map |author= Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |url= http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/maps/SPRS/cnty%20maps/fayette.pdf |title= State Primary Road System: Fayette County |date= June 2007 |location= Frankfort |publisher= Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date= September 14, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080410132418/http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/maps/SPRS/cnty%20maps/fayette.pdf |archive-date= April 10, 2008 |url-status= dead }}{{full citation needed|date=December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |url=http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/reports/SPRS_listings/SPRS_listings.asp |title=State Primary Road System Listings explanation |publisher=Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |access-date=4 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618051105/http://www.planning.kytc.ky.gov/reports/SPRS_listings/SPRS_listings.asp |archive-date=June 18, 2010 }}</ref>

== Perceived problems ==
Dissatisfaction with Man o' War has been widespread in Lexington almost from the road's completion, despite its undeniable usefulness in connecting the rapidly growing suburban areas of southern Lexington to [[Interstate 75]]. Common complaints are the number of traffic lights, the presence of high curbs, and the lack of breakdown lanes to prevent stalled or wrecked vehicles from blocking traffic.<ref name=Dissatisfied/>

[[Scotty Baesler]], who was mayor of Lexington during most of the construction phase, argued in a 2007 interview with the city's daily newspaper, the ''[[Lexington Herald-Leader]]'', that much of this criticism was either unfair or the result of misconceptions. For example, he pointed out that Man o' War was not designed as a limited access freeway like the city's inner beltway, [[New Circle Road]], a highway to which many unfavorably compare Man o' War—it was intended as an urban arterial. He also added,

{{cquote|We never planned it to have any overpasses. It would have been better to have some pull-off areas, but that wasn't the highest priority at the time. The priority was to get four lanes around Lexington and get traffic out of the subdivisions. People can talk about Man o' War now, but I'd hate to see the traffic we'd have on Tates Creek Road today if we hadn't built it. To me, Man o' War is one of the most significant things we did in the 1980s to benefit the entire community.<ref name=Dissatisfied/>}}

David Uckotter, who was the engineering director for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government during the road's construction, also noted that Man o' War had to be designed and built around numerous subdivisions that were sprouting throughout south Lexington in that era. He indicated that this dictated a 120-foot right-of-way, which left no room for breakdown lanes. Uckotter also added that at the time Man o' War was proposed, plans were on the table for a southern beltway similar to New Circle Road outside Man o' War, hugging the border between Lexington and [[Jessamine County, Kentucky|Jessamine County]]. These plans were dropped in the early 1980s, leaving Man o' War as Lexington's only circumferential road outside New Circle, which Uckotter contends has contributed to current problems with Man o' War.<ref name=Dissatisfied/>

== Major intersections ==
{{jcttop|state=KY|county=Fayette|length_ref=|location=Lexington}}
{{KYint
|mile=0.00
|road={{jct|state=KY|US|60|name1=Versailles Road|road|Keeneland Boulevard|city1=Versailles|city2=Lexington|location3=[[University of Kentucky]]|location4=[[Rupp Arena]]|location5=[[Keeneland Race Course]]}}
|notes=Western terminus
}}
{{KYint
|mile=0.25
|road={{jct|state=KY|extra=airport|road|Terminal Drive|location1=[[Blue Grass Airport]]}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=1.26
|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1968|name1=Parkers Mill Road}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=3.29
|road={{jct|state=KY|US|68|name1=Harrodsburg Road|city1=Harrodsburg|city2=Wilmore|city3=Lexington}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=6.56
|road={{jct|state=KY|US|27|name1=Nicholasville Road|city1=Nicholasville|city2=Lexington|location3=[[Fayette Mall]]}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=8.57
|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1974|name1=Tates Creek Road}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=12.80
|road={{jct|state=KY|US|25|US|421|extra=hospital|to3=to|I|75|dir3=south|name2=Richmond Road|city1=Richmond|city2=Lexington}}
}}
{{KYint
|mile=14.26
|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1927|name1=Liberty Road / Todds Road}}
}}
{{KYint
|type=concur
|mile=15.39
|road={{jct|state=KY|I|75|KY|1425|dir2=begin|to3=to|I|64|location1=[[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]]|location2=[[Cincinnati]]}}
|notes=Western end of [[concurrency (road)|concurrency]] with KY 1425; western terminus of KY 1425; I-75 exit 108
}}
{{KYint
|type=concur
|mile=16.76
|road={{jct|state=KY|US|60|KY|1425|dir2=end|name1=Winchester Road|city1=Lexington|city2=Winchester}}
|notes=Eastern terminus; eastern end of concurrency with KY 1425; eastern terminus of KY 1425
}}
{{Jctbtm|keys=concur}}

== See also ==
* [[Roads of Lexington, Kentucky]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Most government documents render the name of the road as "Man O War", possibly due to a bias against including apostrophes in geographic names. However, all street signs along the road display "Man o' War".
{{Refend}}
{{Fayette County/Lexington, Kentucky}}

[[Category:Transportation in Lexington, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Beltways in the United States]]
[[Category:Streets in Lexington, Kentucky]]