Rockcastle County

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has received a $3.1 million grant to fund various public transit projects in rural Kentucky counties: Lexington Herald-Leader: Transportation Cabinet gets $3.1 million (March 2, 2005) 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has scheduled a number of public meetings to discuss road projects across the state.

• US 421: On March 18 from 5pm to 7pm a meeting will be held at Sandgap Elementary School in Sandgap to discuss the reconstruction of US 421 from McKee to the Rockcastle County line. [more information ]
• KY 313: On April 12 from 5:30pm to 8pm a meeting will be held at Flaherty Elementary School in Ekron to discuss an extension to KY 313 from Vine Grove to Brandenburg.
• US 460: On April 27 from 5pm to 8pm a meeting will be held at Camargo Elementary School in Jeffersonville to discuss the reconstruction of US 460 from Jeffersonville to Means.

U.S. Representative Hal Rogers announced in December that a significant amount of transportation funding had been secured for Kentucky. Projects include $20 million for Kentucky's Appalachian Regional Corridor highways, $1.5 million for I-75 widening in Rockcastle County, $1 million for reconstruction of 7 miles of the Hal Rogers Parkway, and $8.5 million for I-66 in Pike County and Pulaski County.

More information: WYMT Mountain News: Rogers Announces Funding for I-66, Other Kentucky Transportation Priorities (Dec. 3, 2003) 

A public meeting for I-66 planning in Pulaski and Laurel Counties brought out several anti-I-66 groups. The Transportation Cabinet is conducting a study to determine the route for I-66 between London and Somerset. This will replace the two-lane KY 80, the current major east-west corridor in the region.

Meanwhile, U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers has used his position on the transportation appropriations subcommittee to have money for Southern Kentucky road projects included a draft version of the Fiscal Year 2004 Transportation Appropriations Committee. The money includes $4.5 million for continuing work on designing I-66 in Pulaski and Laurel Counties, $2 million for I-66 in Pike County, $2 million to improve US 27 north of Somerset, $1.5 million for widening I-75 in Rockcastle County, and $1 million to fund the reconstruction of the Hal Rogers Parkway between mileposts 33 and 47 in Leslie County.

More information: Somerset Commonwealth Journal: Controversial Corridor (July 28, 2003) , Somerset Commonwealth Journal: Federal Funding (July 18, 2003) 

Two-hundred-and-sixty-two photographs of Kentucky's roads have been added to this website. The new photo galleries include:

• Bridges of the Ohio River - Several of Kentucky's 40 bridges across the Ohio River.
• William H. Harsha Bridge Photographs - Photographs of Kentucky's first cable stayed bridge: the William H. Harsha bridge near Maysville.
• I-64 - Sherman Minton Bridge - The I-64 and US 150 bridge over the Ohio River in Louisville.
• Shortway Bridge - The Old KY 1120 bridge over the Licking River between Kenton and Campbell Counties.
• I-65 - John F. Kennedy Bridge - The I-65 bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville.
• US 31 - George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge) - The US 31 bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville.
• I-65 - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 30 - Miscellaneous Images - Photographs of the new section of KY 30 under construction in Laurel County.
• I-65 Warren County Construction - June 29, 2001
• I-65 Warren County Construction - May 22, 2002
• I-65 Warren County Construction - August 15, 2002
• I-65 Warren County Construction - July 5, 2003
• I-75 - Miscellaneous Images - Includes photographs of I-75 widening projects south of Lexington.
• William H. Natcher Bridge - October 26, 2002
• William H. Natcher Bridge - February 8, 2003
• Louisville - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 3 and KY 645 - Inez - January 3, 2003
• AA Highway - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 67 - Miscellaneous Images
• KY 80 - Miscellaneous Images - Along KY 80 in Pulaski and Laurel Counties.
• KY 101 and KY 259 - Edmonson County - November 18, 2001 - A new section of KY 259 and KY 101 under construction in Edmonson County.
• US 23 - Miscellaneous Images
• US 60 - Miscellaneous Images - Photographs of the Cumberland and Tennessee River bridges.

A few new images have been added to the KentuckyRoads.com - Miscellaneous Signs and KentuckyRoads.com - General Images galleries as well.

The federal budget for 2002 includes money for several road projects in Kentucky. These projects include:

• Planning for widening KY 101 in Edmonson County
• Planning for the construction of an interchange with I-65 for the Kentucky Trimodal Transpark in Warren County
• Right-of-way acquasiation and utility relocation for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridge Project
• Bridge rennovation in Lincoln County
• Construction of a sound barrier on I-75 in Fayette County
• Widening of I-75 to six lanes in Rockcastle County
• Construction of the I-66 Northern By-pass of Somerset
• Bridge replacement on Monticello Street in Somerset

More information: Daily News: Region lands more than $13 million in funds (Feb. 15, 2003) , Courier-Journal: Budget funds projects in area (Feb. 15, 2003) , Herald-Leader: Kentucky projects in federal budget bill (Feb. 15, 2003) 

The KYTC Division of Planning has posted information concerning a scoping study  to determine a route for a connector route between US 150 and I-75 in Lincoln and Rockcastle Counties.