LEXINGTON, Ky. — Cherrybark Drive will be closed beginning Monday, April 27, between Southland Drive and Rosemont Garden for a sanitary sewer construction project that is expected to last until late summer.

The closure will be in effect 24 hours a day, though local traffic and access to businesses on Cherrybark Drive will be permitted during the work. Drivers are advised to use Rosemont Garden, Southport Drive and Southland Drive as detour routes, and to drive slowly and watch for workers and pedestrians in the construction areas.

The project involves upsizing approximately 4,500 feet of sanitary sewer line along Wolf Run Creek. Construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2026. The work is required as part of a federal consent decree mandating that Lexington improve its sanitary and stormwater sewer systems.

In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Kentucky filed a lawsuit against the city for failing to maintain its sewer systems, which resulted in unlawful discharges of untreated sewage into area waterways including Wolf Run Creek. The settlement required Lexington to spend close to $590 million to repair and upgrade the systems.

Lexington has already seen a reduction in sanitary sewer overflows as a result of improvement projects implemented under the consent decree. Additional information about the Cherrybark Drive closure and the broader sewer improvement program is available through the City of Lexington's website.