February 2002

WAVE 3  from Louisville reports that an 18-vehicle accident has occured three miles south of Lebanon Junction on I-65. The south bound lanes are closed. So far there are no reports of fatalities, though there are injuries.

The decision has apparently been made that Kentucky's future Interstate 66 and Interstate 69 will apparently use existing parkways. As reported earlier on KentuckyRoads.com, the 2002 Kentucky Official Highway Map shows parts of the Western Kentucky Parkway, Natcher Parkway, and Breathitt Parkway as Future I-66 and Future I-69. On Feb. 25, the Evansville Courier & Press carried an article stating that the map indicates that I-69 and I-66 will follow the existing parkways.

Email correspondence with Mike Hancock, executive director of the Transportation Cabinet's Office of Program Planning and Management, confirms that the decision has been made to utilize as much of the exiting parkway system as possible to route I-66 and I-69. Hancock said, "we are involved in a planning study that will help us determine the costs and impacts associated with upgrading the Parkways affected by I-69 to interstate standards. We will use this study to help us assess similar needs and issues relative to the I-66 Corridor." The parkways do not currently meet federal standards for interstates and will need to be upgraded before they officially become interstates.

Federal legislation has directed Kentucky to use the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway as part of I-66 and the Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway as part of I-69. This legislation also directed Kentucky to erect "Future I-66" signs along the Cumberland Parkway and "Future I-69" signs along the Purchase Parkway. Hancock indicated that the Transportation Cabinet is working to erect this signs very soon.

More information: MyInKy.com - Sketching out I-69 

Two public meetings will be held to discuss the I-66 project in Pike County, Kentucky and Mingo County, West Virginia. The meetings will be held on March 25 and March 26. See Interstate66.com  for more information on times and locations.

The February 2002 procurement bulletins from the KYTC's Division of Professional Services contain information about reconstructing the interchange between I-275 and KY 212 near the Greater Cincinnati Airport and about the construction of a new US 60 bridge over the Tennessee River. See BULL 02-06  on the KYTC website for more information.

The Town Branch Bridge has been dismantled in Prestonsburg. The 68-year-old bridge was removed to make way for a new bridge.

Work has begun to improve safety on US 23 near Catlettsburg. The work is aimed at preventing rock slides along the route. Lanes will be closed periodically through out the project which is expected to be completed in September.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent (Feb. 21, 2002) 

The city of Russell has decline an offering from the Ohio Department of Transportation to take over the Ironton-Russell Bridge. ODOT is planning on replacing and demolishing the bridge by 2008. The 80-year old bridge costs nearly $100,000 per year to inspect and the Russell city council came to the conclusion that this was well beyond the city's budget.

More information: Ashland Daily Independent, Feb. 13, 2002 .

A new proposal to route I-69 west of Evansville between I-64 and Kentucky is being considered. The new proposal would route I-69 west of Evansville and build an elevated freeway through the Ohio River flood plain in southwestern Vanderburgh County, Indiana. There are currently nine or ten routes under consideration; however, the number of proposals should be narrowed to three or four before public meetings this summer. All nine routes face potential problems with archaeological sites, wetlands, and proposed parks and wildlife refuges in Kentucky.

More information: Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Feb. 14  (no longer online), Evansville Courier & Press, Feb. 13 .

The Bowling Green Daily News reports in this Feb. 13, 2002 article  that the state is studying the construction of a Bowling Green loop road as part of the Interstate 66 project. The road would connect I-66 to the Natcher Parkway north of Bowling Green. The road was originally proposed in 1972. The current study is expected to be completed in 2003 and any construction is still over ten years away.

Updated Mar-02: Glasgow Daily Times article .

The Department of Highways in Madisonville is going to review safety on the new Morganfield bypass. The road opened in January and has already been the scene of five fatalities.

More information: Feb. 15 myinky.com article  (no longer online),Feb. 16 myinky.com article  (no longer online), Feb. 18 myinky.com article  (no longer online), Feb. 19 myinky.com article  (no longer online).

This Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer article  (no longer online) examines Daviess County road projects that are listed in the 2002 Six Year Highway Plan. The projects include:

• an eastern extension to the US 60 By-pass to divert traffic heading towards the William H. Natcher Bridge slated to begin construction in 2005,
• widening of Southtown Boulevard,
• reconstruction of the northernmost six miles of the Natcher Parkway,
• reconstruction of the approach the Cary Bridge over the Ohio River,
• and several pavement rehabilitation projects and bridge replacements.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports in this Feb. 10, 2002 article  that Warren County is slated to receive $187 million in road work during the next six years. This includes widening I-65, construction of new interchanges on I-65, extension of the Natcher Parkway, widening of Lovers Lane (KY 880), and widening of US 231 to Scottsville.

The Courier-Journal reports in this Feb. 10, 2002 article  that the governors of Indiana and Kentucky both still support the proposed bridges over the Ohio River near Louisville.

Every two years a Six Year Highway Plan is prepared and approved by Kentucky's legislature. The 2002 Recommended Six Year Highway Plan  has been posted on the KYTC website. The KYTC is concerned that funding might not be available to complete all of the projects because a gas tax increase was not passed by the state legislature. Instead the legislature directed the Governor to use the highway reserve fund to pay for improvements. This fund will soon be depleted. This Courier-Journal article  and this KYTC press release  have more information about the Six Year Plan and the transportation budget.

The Danville Advocate Messenger reports here  (no longer online) that the Kentucky Heritage Council has agreed that Alternate 2B is the "least harm" option for the new four-lane route in Garrard County. The KYTC can now recommend this route to the Federal Highway Administration. There is concern that any reconstruction of the road will damage a Civil War site in the area.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports in this article  that a project to improve US 119 across Pine Mountain will begin this spring; however, trucks will probably still be banned from the highway due to remaining hairpin curves. A project to construct a tunnel through the mountain is being studied, but it may take 20 years to complete such a project.

The KYTC will be holding public meetings to discuss the proposed Bowling Green Beltline highway and the location of I-66 between the Natcher Parkway and the Cumberland Parkway. More information can be found here .

The KYTC will be holding public meetings to discuss the reconstruction of US 27 from KY 34 in Garrard County to the Stanford Bypass. More details can be found here .

The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reports in this article  (no longer online) that the final section of the William H. Natcher Bridge has been placed. The new cable-stayed bridge over the Ohio River is expected to open in late July or early August.

The Union County Advocate reports in this article , that the Union County Fiscal Court has asked the KYTC to re-evaluate safety on the new US 60 Bypass. There have already been several accidents on the road since it opened in January.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports in this article  that three rest areas on I-65 will be closed: two in Warren County and a third in Hart County. The rest areas are being demolished because they are unable to handle current traffic on I-65. The stretch of road handles between 35,000 and 45,000 vehicles per day. Around 50% of this traffic is truck traffic, and the rest areas do not have adequate parking for trucks.

Update Feb. 10: This Glasgow Daily Times article  discusses the rest area work as well.

According to this Courier-Journal article , the Federal Highway Administration has approved plans for a new development near the Gene Snyder Freeway and I-71 in Jefferson County. Federal approval was required because it involves construction near an entrance ramp to I-265.

The Courier-Journal reports in this Feb. 4, 2002 article  that public meeting will be held this week to discuss the Louisville-Southern Indiana bridge project. More information about the project can be found at www.kyinbridges.com . The public is invited to comment on the projects until Feb. 25.

U.S. Representative Hal Rogers was the co-chairman of the conference committee that wrote the final transportation spending plan and his guidance helped bring more transportation spending to the Commonwealth. For many years, Kentucky's citizens paid more in federal fuel taxes that in received back from the federal government in the form of transportation spending; however, for Fiscal Year 2002 spending, Kentucky is set to receive more money back than was paid in. The Courier-Journal has this article  with more details on transportation spending.

The KYTC will be holding a public meeting Thursday, February 6 at 5:00 pm in the commons area of Pikeville High School. The meeting is to discuss the US 23 Congestion Relief Project.

A recent spate of fatal road crashes in Eastern Kentucky has caused the KYTC to put a greater emphasis on seat belt usage. During an eight day period in January five people were killed in five separate accident. None of the five were wearing seatbelts. Those wearing seatbelts in the accidents survived.

More information can be found at the Appalachian News Express  (no longer online) and the KYTC web site . The governor has declared February as Buckle Up Kentucky Month .

The Bowling Green Daily News reports in this Feb. 3, 2002 article  that public meeting will be held in March to discuss possible routes for I-66 between the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway and the Natcher Parkway. The Daily News reports that this project will likely be combined with an effort to build a beltway road north of Bowling Green.

This Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer article  (no longer online) reports that work at the intersection of US 60 and Bypass US 60 greatly reduced business at shops near the work zone. The work, to add extra turn lanes, was completed in December. Traffic is expected to increase this summer when the William H. Natcher Bridge opens. Eventually the US 60 by-pass will be extended further east to reduce traffic near Owensboro.