Other Routes

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Division of Planning has posted new information regarding a proposed new route connecting Harlan and Hazard. The material includes two maps of the area under consideration.

More information: KYTC Division of Planning: Harlan to Hazard Connector 

Dozens of people have submitted comments on a proposal to build a new connector to route from near the Gene Snyder Freeway in Jefferson County to Crestwood in Oldham County. The new route would be four lanes and is intended to provide improved access to Pewee Valley.

More information: Courier-Journal: Dozens comment on connector road (Sept. 9, 2003) , Oldham County Era: State seeking input on Old Henry bypass (Sept. 12, 2003) 

Public meetings were held last week to discuss possible routes for a new connector route between Old Henry Old at the Gene Snyder Freeway in Jefferson County and KY 22 in Crestwood in Oldham County.

More information: Courier-Journal: Views on proposed road 2 counties are sought (Aug. 26, 2003) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Division of Planning has released materials concerning a planning study for a new route connecting Harlan and Hazard. See here   for more information.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has posted the final report concerning the construction of a new connector route northeast of Grayson in Carter County.

More information: KYTC Division of Planning 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has scheduled several planning meetings:

• July 30 - New Elizabethtown-Radcliff Connector 
• July 30 - Reconstruction of KY 536 in Boone County 
• Aug. 8 - I-66 Somerset Northern By-Pass 
• Aug. 13 - Widening US 641 in Calloway County 
• Aug. 14/15 - I-66 Meetings in Warren and Edmonson Counties 
• Aug. 15 - Reconstruction of I-64 and US 60 Interchanges on I-265 (Gene Snyder Freeway) 
• Aug. 20 - I-66 in Ballard and McCracken Counties 
• Aug. 20 - Extension of the Edward T. Breathitt Parkway Extension to I-24 in Christian County 

The Ashland Daily Independent reports in this Nov. 4, 2001 article  (no longer online) that an advanced carbon based polymer coating will be used to reinforce a flawed bridge over the Little Sandy River. The bridge which had been expected to remain stable for three to four years will now be stable for 20 to 30 years.

Update Dec. 7, 2001: Here is a Cincinnati Enquirer article  about the bridge.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Division of Professional Services has posted several procurement bulletins . Even if you aren't a contractor, these bulletins are useful for learning about upcoming road projects. Recent bulletins include:

• preliminary design of a new interchange near mile 27 on the Daniel Boone Parkway ,
• widening of Hurstbourne Parkway (KY 1747) near I-64 and US 60 in Jefferson County ,
• reconstruct KY 1848 near I-64 in Shelby County ,
• preliminary engineering for reconstructing part of KY 194 in Pike County ,
• design for US 641 relocation in Crittenden and Lyon county ,
• design for US 60 widening in Ballard and McCracken county ,
• scoping study for the proposed Heartland Parkway ,
• bridge replacement on KY 22 in Pendleton county ,
• design for KY 1/KY 7 widening project in Carter county ,
• design of a new connector between KY 6 and the Corbin by-pass in Knox and Whitley counties ,
• and preliminary engineering of a railroad grade separation on KY 80 in Pike County .

Three new America's Byways have been designated in Kentucky. These include US 23, "The Country Music Highway," in Eastern Kentucky; KY 15, "The Red River Gorge Scenic Byway;" and parts of US 25 and KY 229 which form "The Wilderness Road Heritage Highway." The National Scenic Byways Program was started in 1991 to preserve historic and scenic highways. It is administered by the Federal Highway Administration. These three routes are the first America's Byways to be designated in Kentucky.

More information: FHWA Press Release (June 13, 2002) , Messenger-Inquirer: Kentucky Routes Join America's Byways List (June 13, 2002) , Courier-Journal: Three routes added to scenic byway system (June 14, 2002) , Herald-Leader: Three roads are first in state added to America's Byways (June 14, 2002) 

The KYTC has posted information pertaining to their study of improvements to the AA Highway (KY 9) in Northern Kentucky. The study materials can be found here . A map of the study area is here .

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is planning to study building a new road to the Bob Cummings Bridge over the Ohio River at Hawesville. The new road would connect the bridge to US 60. The new road is being studies because the Indiana Department of Transportation is building a new road (IN 237) to connect the bridge to I-64. The current intersection at the end of the bridge is prone to accidents. The Immaculate Conception Church has been struck by cars failing to stop on seven occasions.

More information: Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer: Cabinet to study roadways leading to Hawesville bridge (Apr. 29, 2002)  (no longer online)

The Perryville Community Development Commission is studying a bypass around the historic district of Perryville.

More information: Advocate Messenger: Bypass gets top priority at Perryville community forum (3/12/02)  (no longer online)

H.B. Elkins suggests in two articles in the Usenet newsgroup misc.transport.road that work being done along the KY 7 corridor in Eastern Kentucky will eventually lead to a London-Ashland Highway similar to the Alexandria-Ashland Highway in Northern Kentucky.

More information: Re: Southern OH/ Eastern KY Roadtrip  and Re: KY: Expansion of KY 7 - Grayson-London Link 

The Ashland Daily Independent reports in this Mar. 4, 2002 article  that $13.5 million in work on KY 7 in Elliott County will be let for bids this summer if all goes will with Army Corps of Engineers approval and state environmental reviews. The work requires approval from the Corps of Engineers because it borders a watershed property and from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife because it may impact bat habitat in the area. This project will reconstruct the road from the Laurel Gorge to KY 885. Other projects are planned along KY 7 in coming years.

The Bowling Green Daily News reports in this Mar. 3, 2002 article  that the Barren River Area Development Highway Safety Committee, a group composed of area elected officials and highway officials, is proposing education, engineering, enforcement, emergency services and enactment to change hazards they see on Kentucky roads. There have been nearly 200 deaths on roads in the Barren River area since 1997. Greg Meredith, from the Department of Highways, says that some of the improvements are more attainable than others, but that state budget constraints make it unlikely that many of the improvements can be implemented. On proposal, the construction of a barrier in the middle of I-65, is already part of the I-65 widening project.

According to this article  (no longer online), Murray leaders have held a public meeting with KYTC officials to ask why it takes so long for stop lights to change along Murray's Twelfth Street.

After receiving mixed feedback on a proposed connector between Grayson and I-64, the Transportation Cabinet may consider multiple options to relieve congestion in Grayson. See this article  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.

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 .

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 .

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.

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 KYTC will be holding a public meeting on February 25, 2002 to discuss a possible new connector to I-64 northeast of Grayson. For more information, see here .

The January 16th, 2002 edition of the Floyd County Times  (no longer online) has a picture with a short caption about the demolition of the Town Branch Bridge in Prestonsburg. KYTC engineers are inspecting the bridge to determine how best to destroy it. (The image will disappear from the site soon.)

The Ashland Daily Independent reports in this article  that ODOT will close the Ironton-Russell Bridge between Ironton, OH and Russell, KY will be closed if temperatures drop to around 5 degrees below zero. This is due to concerns about the steel structure of the bridge. The University of Cincinnati has been conducting tests on the 80-year-old structure since 1999.

A number of new planning studies have been released including a new connector near Grayson in Carter County , reconstruction of US 27 in Garrard and Lincoln Counties , reconstruction of KY 101 in Warren County , reconstruction of KY 90 in Barren County , and reconstruction of US 25 in Boone County .

Update: The KYTC has also launched two new websites devoted to particular projects: KY52.com  for improvements to KY 52 in Garrard and Madison counties and E2RC.com  for information about the Elizabethtown-Radcliff Connector.

The new bridge over the Licking River between Covington and Newport locally known as the "Short Way" bridge has been named in honor of the local Girl Scout council. More information can be found in this press release .

This Bowling Green Daily News article  reports that work is progressing on several road projects in Warren County. Work is expected to finish early on a project to widen I-65 to six lanes between Oakland and the Barren River. Work on I-65 between the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway and Oakland is expected to begin this spring. Work is also on schedule on rebuilding Scottsville Road (US 231) between Bowling Green and Alvaton. Eventually US 231 will be widened to four lanes between Bowling Green and Scottsville. Work on a new interchange between I-65 and KY 234 has slowed for the winter. Also work on the Natcher Parkway is expected to begin soon. The interchange between the Natcher Parkway and I-65 will be reconstructed south of its current location.

The conference version of the Transportation spending bill  has passed both houses of Congress and is now waiting to be signed by the President.

Kentucky is mentioned several places in the bill:

• $2,000,000 for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) providing Eastern Kentucky rural highway information,
• $750,000 for an ITS for Lexington,
• $2,000,000 for a statewide transportation operations center,
• the corridors for I-66 and I-69 have been redefined: I-66 is now defined to use the Nunn Cumberland Parkway and I-69 is now defined to use the Carrol Purchase Parkway,
• Kentucky may now post signs saying "Future I-69" on the Purchase Parkway and "Future I-66" in the Cumberland Parkway,
• $4,000,000 for to help access to an industrial park in Clay and Leslie counties,
• $50,000 for work on Kentucky 55,
• $1,600,000 for work on Kentucky 192 in McCreary county,
• $1,000,000 for improvements to the intersection at the end of Grover Carey Bridge in Owensboro,
• $250,000 for work on Kentucky 61 in Green county,
• $300,000 for work on Kentucky 92 in Whitley county,
• $20,000,000 for I-66 (I believe this is the Somerset-London segment.),
• $2,500,000 for I-66 in Pike County,
• $320,000 for work on KY 1848 between I-64 and US 60,
• $1,000,000 for the Monticello Street underpass in Somerset,
• $1,000,000 for work on the Pennyrile Parkway (I believe this is for the southern extension to I-24),
• $1,500,000 for work on Stone Coal Road in Johnson county,
• $2,000,000 for work on US 25 near Renfro Valley,
• $5,000,000 for work on US 27 between Somerset and KY 70,
• $80,000 for work on US 27 near Burnside,
• $850,000 for work on US 431 near Lewisburg,
• $500,000 for right-of-way for US 60 in Henderson County,
• $100,000 for work on US 41A,
• $50,00 for Estill County bypass lighting around Irvine,
• $300,000 for Estill County industrial park access road,
• $400,000 for Fegenbush Lane Bridge at Fern Creek,
• $1,000,000 for Henderson riverfront project,
• $1,000,000 for engineering work on Kentucky 61 from Kentucky 487 to Columbia,
• $800,000 for Johnstown Road,
• $2,350,000 for Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for Regional Trail Improvements,
• $1,000,000 for improved access to Louisville's water front park,
• $600,000 for median on US 42 from Harrods Creek to River Road,
• $1,800,000 for Owensboro Riverfront redevelopment project,
• $42,600 for Park City sidewalks,
• $2,000,000 for Somerset downtown revitalization,
• $6,600,000 for Southern bypass around the southwestern portion of Somerset,
• $125,000 for Vine Grove sidewalks,
• $2,000,000 for Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge,
• $1,400,000 for Cold Hill Road,
• $995,000 for Craigs Creek Road,
• $1,500,000 for Daniel Boone Parkway between mileposts 37 and 44,
• $2,000,000 for Brent Spence Bridge replacement I-75 and I-71 near Cincinnati,
• $375,000 for work at I-75 Exit 11,
• $2,500,000 for Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project,
• $885,000 for Kentucky Scenic byways (Country Music Highway, Wilderness Road Heritage Highway, Cumberland Cultural Heritage Highway),
• $30,000,000 for work Appalachian Development Highway System,
• $4,534,000 for the Kentucky Transportation Department to provide buses, vans, cutaways, and bus facilities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
• $1,500,000 for Big South Fork Scenic Railroad enhancement project, and
• $5,000,000 for Southern Kentucky Intermodal Transportation Park.

Quite an impressive haul; however, there is no funding for I-175.

The KYTC Division of Planning has released materials from a public meeting  in Taylorsville concerning a new connector from KY 44 to KY 55.

In non-Kentucky news, the Indiana Department of Transportation is selling several historic bridges  online.

The Henderson Gleaner reports in this Nov. 7, 2001 article  (no longer online) that a Henderson county magistrate is asking the KYTC to consider building a new route through Henderson to relieve traffic from the US 41 and US 60 interchange.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports in this Oct. 29, 2001 article  (no longer online) that a group calling themselves Smart Progress is attempting to block the construction of a four lane connector between I-64 and US 60 near Morehead. The group is concerned that the road is not needed and will damage a recreation area in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

The KYTC will be holding a public meeting in Spencer County to discuss a proposed connector  route between KY 44 and KY 55 near Taylorsville.

The KYTC has released information from a planning studying looking at a possible Tompkinsville Bypass .

The Courier-Journal reports in this Sept. 12, 2001 article  that a new La Grange bypass is being studied.

The Ashland Daily Independent reported in this August 9, 2001  article that a group in Morehead plans to fight a proposed I-64 connector there. The connector would help to alleviate traffic in Morehead; however, the citizens are considered that it would adversely affect the environment.

Thanks to Sherman Cahal  for pointing out this article.

The KYTC has released the KY 11 Intermediate Planning Study . The study provides information about the need for reconstruction of KY 11 in Lee and Owsley counties and provides estimated costs for the project.