Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
On August 18, 1949, construction on a new beltway around Lexington started.
New Circle Road, or Kentucky Route 4, was envisioned as a way to avoid driving through the city to get from one side of Lexington to the other…