Portion of KY highway getting a face-lift, down to one lane - 14 News, WFIE, Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro

Parts of US 60 in Hancock County are getting a makeover in the name of safety. County officials say the lane widening project has been in the works for years.

One thing's for sure, Hancock County residents think the westbound lane of US 60 headed in to Owensboro is a huge problem.

"It's definitely too narrow," said resident Carolyn Nugent.

"It's just been a very unsafe highway," said Judge Executive Jack McCaslin. "I can't even start to tell you how many trucks we've had wrecks on Highway 60 between here and the high school."

"The first thing that you notice is that there's absolutely no shoulder on the road," noted Jason Detre with Hancock County Schools.

Residents tell 14 News the road sees a lot of traffic.

"We have a lot of tractor trailer trucks," said Nugent. 

"Not only that, we have school buses travel down that road," said Detre.

Thanks to state funding, work has started on widening the westbound lane, a 10 to 15 foot shoulder is being added in the middle of the westbound and eastbound lanes.

"It's going to be a great improvement to the safety of not only the industry but for students that travel that road every day," said Detre. "It's going to give them a little more cushion if something did happen."

County officials say the project is costing just under a million dollars.