Kentucky Route 620

[MultiMillionMiler]

I just discovered this one while looking at the local numbered routes near Lexington, and this has got to be the oddest path of a route I have ever seen. It is like an elongated lowercase letter e and a spiral shape. Is this supposed to be some contorted beltway around the small town? Why did they number the central leg this route the same as the main circle? Does anyone know the reason why it was numbered and routed like this?

[Max Rockatansky]

Almost everything in Kentucky is maintained by the state.  If you think KY 620 is bad have a look at the legend that is KY 199.

[Alps]

Why couldn't 922 turn left and take that last piece over? This is simply BIZARRE

[Rothman]

I like it.  Lots of other weirdo state routes in KY.

[hbelkins]

https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/State%20Primary%20Road%20System%20Lists/Scott.pdf

Gives a little history into changes along the route.

The oddest part is that it changes numbers at an arbitrary point along Cherry Blossom Way.

[skluth]

Almost everything in Kentucky is maintained by the state.  If you think KY 620 is bad have a look at the legend that is KY 199.

KY 199 is just a twisty route through the mountains. KY 620 has directional weirdness akin to CA 18 or the far east end of I-64 but even more extreme. I agree with the OP that KY 620 ranks as one of the weirdest routes I've ever seen. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Almost everything in Kentucky is maintained by the state.  If you think KY 620 is bad have a look at the legend that is KY 199.

KY 199 is just a twisty route through the mountains. KY 620 has directional weirdness akin to CA 18 or the far east end of I-64 but even more extreme. I agree with the OP that KY 620 ranks as one of the weirdest routes I've ever seen.

KY 199 has an ungraded section which for whatever reason is signed.  Basically KY 199 is the equivalent to dirt CA 173 if I was to use another Big Bear area comparison.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Almost everything in Kentucky is maintained by the state.  If you think KY 620 is bad have a look at the legend that is KY 199.

KY 199 is just a twisty route through the mountains. KY 620 has directional weirdness akin to CA 18 or the far east end of I-64 but even more extreme. I agree with the OP that KY 620 ranks as one of the weirdest routes I've ever seen.

Not only that, but it changes its right-of-way a couple times along the path, meaning it doesn't stay on one continuous road throughout. Don't know how the hell you would sign directions onto a route like that

[Max Rockatansky]

Almost everything in Kentucky is maintained by the state.  If you think KY 620 is bad have a look at the legend that is KY 199.

KY 199 is just a twisty route through the mountains. KY 620 has directional weirdness akin to CA 18 or the far east end of I-64 but even more extreme. I agree with the OP that KY 620 ranks as one of the weirdest routes I've ever seen.

Not only that, but it changes its right-of-way a couple times along the path, meaning it doesn't stay on one continuous road throughout. Don't know how the hell you would sign directions onto a route like that

Reassurance shields and directional arrows.

[hbelkins]

KY 199 is not signed along the gravel portion. It's signed at its southern terminus at KY 632, but there is no signage on the eastern portion where the route leaves the black top and makes a turn onto the gravel portion. Of course no one uses it as a through route anyway.

As for KY 620, more investigation reveals that it's now a continuous route that has replaced KY 3487. Prior to the construction of Cherry Blossom Way and the Toyota factory, KY 620 ran along what is labeled Delaplain Road. The KY 1143 western Georgetown bypass was built to intersect US 25 at KY 620 so that creates an unusual jog in 620 where it intersects 1143, has a short concurrency with US 25, then intersects 1143 again.

[Alps]

KY 199 is not signed along the gravel portion. It's signed at its southern terminus at KY 632, but there is no signage on the eastern portion where the route leaves the black top and makes a turn onto the gravel portion. Of course no one uses it as a through route anyway.

Eastern? Looks due north-south more or less? https://travelmapping.net/hb/showroute.php?units=miles&u=mapcat&r=ky.ky0199

[MultiMillionMiler]

At least on CA-18, the distance between the locations where it is double-backing on itself is huge in comparison to KY 620. And the entire route is over 100 miles long. KY 620 is less than 20 miles long, and does more than start to reverse direction or turn into a beltway...it is essentially a spiral.

[hbelkins]

KY 199 is not signed along the gravel portion. It's signed at its southern terminus at KY 632, but there is no signage on the eastern portion where the route leaves the black top and makes a turn onto the gravel portion. Of course no one uses it as a through route anyway.

Eastern? Looks due north-south more or less? https://travelmapping.net/hb/showroute.php?units=miles&u=mapcat&r=ky.ky0199

By "eastern" I mean the N-S portion in the Stone community that lies east of the other terminus at KY 632.

BTW, KY 199 shows on the oldest available Pike County maps as a numbered, state-maintained route. I have no idea why this route is on the state system. Traffic counts are, I think, in the single figures for AADT.

[Dirt Roads]

KY 199 is not signed along the gravel portion. It's signed at its southern terminus at KY 632, but there is no signage on the eastern portion where the route leaves the black top and makes a turn onto the gravel portion. Of course no one uses it as a through route anyway.

Eastern? Looks due north-south more or less? https://travelmapping.net/hb/showroute.php?units=miles&u=mapcat&r=ky.ky0199

By "eastern" I mean the N-S portion in the Stone community that lies east of the other terminus at KY 632.

BTW, KY 199 shows on the oldest available Pike County maps as a numbered, state-maintained route. I have no idea why this route is on the state system. Traffic counts are, I think, in the single figures for AADT.

It was my understanding that KYTC maintained all of the "main roads" that were used by the oil and natural gas industry in Eastern Kentucky, so I'm sure that the same principal was applied towards coal mining. 

Just southeast of McAndrews on KY-199 are several inactive mines: (1) Alma #1 Coal Mine (currently owned by Eastern Coal Corp.); (2) Aaron #2 (owned by Aaron Coal Company); (3) Patrick #1 (owned by Patrick Processing, operated by Billy Smith); and (4) Patrick #2 (same deal).  The Alma 1 mine appears to be three separate coal seams, and since they all have the same name they probably are interconnected by several mineshafts.  Additionally, Patrick #2 winds around an goes up May Fork and has a large coal seam on both sides of KY-1056.  Additionally, there was a strip mine along Ball Fork (owned by aptly-named Ball Park Coal Company) that was likely abandoned in the 1950s.

Just as KY-199 turns from Pond Creek Road into Dinky Road, there is a very old large underground mine complex to the east.  And when you get down to the end of Dinky Road at KY-632, there are a bunch of inactive mines in that area.  I was surprised to find that there is one active auger-type stripmine in that area on the south side of KY-632, which is Apex #10 (owned by Apex Energy), but that would have no impact on KY-199.

[NE2]

KY 199 was apparently created by this 1930 law:

That there is hereby established as a part of the system of primary State roads in Pike County, Kentucky, the road beginning at a point on Project No. S. P. 39½ at or near the mouth of the Pond Fork of Johns Creek and thence running up said Pond Fork Crossing on to Main Pond Creek, thence down Pond Creek via McVeigh, via Pinson Fork, via Stone, to Hudy, Pike County, Kentucky, a point where said road will intersect with Project No. S. P. 36, (Pikeville-Williamsburg Highway).

[hbelkins]

"Pikeville-Williamsburg Highway."

At this point, near Huddy ("Hudy" is a misspelling), US 119 is well east of Pikeville. You get to Williamsburg from Pineville by following US 25E north briefly at the end of US 119, and then following KY 92 west.

If that was considered one route at one time, I'm surprised I've never seen a proposal to extend 119 west to 25W. And yes, I know that US 119 in Kentucky was US 123 before it was 119.

[seicer]

It would make more sense to re-designate McClelland Circle and Cherry Blossom Way (a nod to Japan's favorite trees) as KY 1143. Oddly, US 62 isn't routed through downtown Georgetown like US 460 and US 25 does.

[NE2]

"Pikeville-Williamsburg Highway."

At this point, near Huddy ("Hudy" is a misspelling), US 119 is well east of Pikeville. You get to Williamsburg from Pineville by following US 25E north briefly at the end of US 119, and then following KY 92 west.

Probably a typo for Williamson...

[hbelkins]

It would make more sense to re-designate McClelland Circle and Cherry Blossom Way (a nod to Japan's favorite trees) as KY 1143. Oddly, US 62 isn't routed through downtown Georgetown like US 460 and US 25 does.

When the bypass was first built, US 62 was still routed on its original route to meet US 460, and both routes traveled through downtown. At a later date, that part of US 62 was decommissioned and turned over to the city. IIRC, the extreme western part of the bypass was signed Bypass 460, and the portion east of US 62 was signed as the Bypass 62/Bypass 460.

"Pikeville-Williamsburg Highway."

At this point, near Huddy ("Hudy" is a misspelling), US 119 is well east of Pikeville. You get to Williamsburg from Pineville by following US 25E north briefly at the end of US 119, and then following KY 92 west.

Probably a typo for Williamson...

Probably so, I hadn't thought about that.