Those long lines of traffic into Bench Bend Park during its high-profile events could soon be alleviated.

Warren Fiscal Court on Thursday approved Public Works Director Josh Moore’s request to advertise for design-build proposals for widening an 1,800-foot-long section of Beech Bend Road from Garvin Lane to Beech Bend Park Road.

“During major events at Beech Bend, we can have major traffic issues,” Moore said.

“This will provide a third lane from Garvin Lane to the park. We need to provide the best service we can for these events so visitors have a good experience,” he said.

Automotive-related events like August’s Danchuk Tri-Five Nationals, September’s Holley LS Fest and October’s Buick GS Nationals routinely bring in thousands of visitors.

This widening will help make their experience more enjoyable while lessening the inconvenience for local residents, Moore said.

“Adding a third lane will allow us to move vehicles in more quickly,” he said. “We’ll have to work with law enforcement to make sure we have access to Bowling Green Country Club and other areas along that road.”

Moore described the project as the first phase of improvements to Beech Bend Road, a 2.75-mile stretch that is partly maintained by the city of Bowling Green and partly by the county.

“This is something we can do in a short amount of time that will help with events coming up in the spring,” Moore said. “We’ll coordinate with the convention and visitors bureau and the chamber of commerce to see what the future needs are.”

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said upgrades to Beech Bend Road can help keep visitors coming back.

“The last thing we want to do is attract people here for events and have them not want to come back because they had a bad experience with traffic,” Buchanon said.

Moore said he expects to have a proposal on the road widening for fiscal court to consider “in the next 30 days.”

The magistrates also took actions that will improve the Warren County Regional Jail and the county’s Community Outdoor Warning Sirens system.

They approved four jail spending items that will be paid for through capital improvement funds provided by a contract with Securus Technologies, which provides video and phone services for inmates.

Approved were $18,754 for resurfacing the floor and some walls in the bathrooms of two of the jail’s dormitories, $16,499.05 for the purchase of a Dell PowerEdge computer server, $3,200 for laminate vinyl flooring for the jail’s Class D office and $28,624 for resurfacing the floor in the kitchen and dishwashing room.

Jailer Stephen Harmon said funding for the capital improvements comes from a three-year contract he negotiated with Securus.

“We’re able to do these projects without dipping into the general fund,” Harmon said.

That general fund will not be touched by another spending item approved Thursday. The magistrates approved a purchase of software from Illinois-based Federal Signal Corp. that will allow for monitoring and activation of the COWS system, but the $5,000 cost is being picked up by the city of Bowling Green.

“We participate with the (COWS) program every year,” Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said. “Warren County Emergency Management is trying to cover the entire county, and we try to help.”

Started in 1997, the COWS program uses outdoor warning sirens to alert residents of severe weather and dangers such as earthquakes and chemical spills.

Warren County Emergency Management Director Ronnie Pearson said the COWS program started with 10 sirens purchased with a federal Department of Homeland Security grant and is now up to 33. He believes this new “Commander One” software will provide a much-needed upgrade to his office’s technology.

“We’ve had a couple of issues with the software that does the activation,” Pearson said. “It hasn’t been updated since 2013.”

The new software “gives us an opportunity to go more toward automation,” Pearson said.

He said the new software and the automation of all 33 sirens will be tested during the three-minute audible tests of the sirens conducted on the first Friday of each month.

Also Thursday, the magistrates approved spending $8,110 to Paducah Blueprint & Supply for replacing the large-format printer, plotter and scanner for the Public Works Department.

They also approved spending $4,640 to Reynolds Sealing and Striping for centerline striping of Hayes Road and Hunts Lane.