Kentucky

[hbelkins]

The reflectivity of the paint used in striping has long been a source of complaints in Kentucky. When I visited the statewide materials testing lab in Frankfort year before last as part of a class, they said Kentucky was changing its standards in search of paint that's more reflective on rainy nights.

Regarding pavement markers, Kentucky used to install these on a lot of rural two-lane routes, which to me was a blessing because it's hard to see the centerline on rainy nights. Unfortunately, this was being done as part of a study, and the research showed that they did not significantly reduce the number of wrecks, so Kentucky quit using them. They still use them on divided highways, which to me makes no sense at all. Seems like they'd be more useful to delineate the centerline of a road with two-way traffic, vs. between lanes of a multi-lane road.

[seicer]

Beshear recommends no tax increase to fund Kentucky road projects

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is not seeking any additional dollars for the state's $1.5 billion Road Fund but has some major road projects in mind.

On that list are speeding up the Mountain Parkway widening project in Eastern Kentucky and building an I-69 bridge in Western Kentucky.

"Transportation is critical for the safety of our families and the future of our businesses,"  said Beshear during a joint session of the Kentucky General Assembly. "And the right projects provide opportunities to transform regional economics, to provide a better future."

[hbelkins]

Beshear recommends no tax increase to fund Kentucky road projects

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is not seeking any additional dollars for the state's $1.5 billion Road Fund but has some major road projects in mind.

On that list are speeding up the Mountain Parkway widening project in Eastern Kentucky and building an I-69 bridge in Western Kentucky.

"Transportation is critical for the safety of our families and the future of our businesses,"  said Beshear during a joint session of the Kentucky General Assembly. "And the right projects provide opportunities to transform regional economics, to provide a better future."

A whole bunch of entities, including the Kentuckians for Better Transportation, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky League of Cities, and Kentucky Association of Counties, are advocating a 10-cent-per-gallon tax increase. I don't know if such a proposal has been officially initiated yet in this legislative session, but some Republicans filed a bill in the last session. It went nowhere.

[Buck87]

How long has it been since the last gas tax increase in Kentucky?

[ibthebigd]

I would think the Brent Spence bridge would be the highest priority.

SM-G950U

[hbelkins]

How long has it been since the last gas tax increase in Kentucky?

Not all that long. They raised the floor a few years ago, which resulted in an increase of a cent or two.

[seicer]

It's pegged to inflation, which is good politically.

[seicer]

The latest 2020 Recommended Highway Plan at https://transportation.ky.gov/Program-Management/Pages/2020-Recommended-Highway-Plan.aspx with highlights below:

Interstates and Parkways

I-64

• 7-8909.00 | C | FY 2024 | $17.7 million: Major widening of I-64/75 to eight lanes between the splits in Lexington
• 5-64.00 | C | FY 2020-24 | $51 million: I-64 Sherman Minton Bridge refurbishment project
• 5-80000.00 | P | FY 2024: New I-64 / KY 1531/Eastwood-Fisherville Road interchange
• 5-80002.00 | P | FY 2026: New I-64 interchange east of I-265
• 5-65.40 | C | FY 2024-25 | $140 million: Widen I-64 from KY 55 to KY 170 and KY 395 and KY 151
• 5-551.00 | D: Planning for the major widening of I-64 to six lanes between US 127 and US 60 around Frankfort

I-65

• 4-20.01 | C | FY 2022-23 | $33 million: Reconstruct I-65 and KY 222 interchange
• 5-559.00 | D | FY 2026: Reconstruct I-65 and I-264 interchange
• 5-560.00 | P | FY 2026: Recosntruct I-65 and I-265 interchange

I-69

• 1-25.00 | D/R/U: Improve the I-69/Purchase Parkway at the Kentucky and Tennessee state line to US 51
• 1-26.00 | C | FY 2025 | $18 million: Improve the I-69/Purchase Parkway between US 51 and Cardinal Road near Mayfield, including the KY 339 interchange in Wingo
• 2-1088.20 | C | FY 2022-25 | $267 million: Construct the portion of I-69 Ohio River Bridge project from KY 425/Henderson Bypass to US 60
• 2-1088.50 | C | FY 2025 | $73.4 million: Work with INDOT to develop a $1.1 billion bi-state package to construct the I-69 Ohio River Bridge between US60 and I-69 in Evansville

I-71

• 5-48.10 | C | FY 2025 | $23.7 million: Widen I-71 to six lanes between Frankfort Avenue overpass to the Zorn Avenue interchange
• 5-557.00 | D | FY 2024: Planning for the widening of I-71 between I-265 and Zorn Avenue
• 5-483.10 | C | FY 2024 | $40 million: Widen I-71 to six lanes from KY 329 to KY 393
• 5-483.20 | C | FY 2026 | $49 million: Widen I-71 to six lanes from KY 393 to KY 53
• 6-8910.00 | C | FY 2026 | $41 million: Reconstruct I-71 for two miles between US 127 and milepost 64 to improve geometrics

I-75

• 11-14.80 | C | FY 2025 | $61 million: Widen I-75 from milepost 20 in Whitley County to US 25E north of Corbin
• 7-8909.00 | C | FY 2024 | $17.7 million: Major widening of I-64/75 to eight lanes between the splits in Lexington
• 7-119.00 | C | FY 2026 | $24.5 million: Reconstruct I-75 and KY 32 interchange at Exit 136
• 6-79.00 | C | FY 2025 | $10 million: Improvements to I-71/75/275 interchange

Other Interstates

• 3-2042.20 | C | FY 2021-22 | $8.4 million: Reconstruct I-165/US 231 exit 9
• 5-804.00 | C | FY 2023-25: Reconstruct I-264 between Westport Road and I-71 including a new US 42 SPUI interchange
• 5-554.00 | D | FY 2025: Planning for the widening of I-265 between I-65 and US 31E/Bardstown Road
• 5-558.00 | P/U/D | FY 2023-26: Widen I-265 between US 31E/Bardstown Road and KY 155/Taylorsville Road
• 5-80006.00 | C | FY 2026 | $14 million: New KY 841 interchange at the Ranaissance South Business Park
• 6-79.00 | C | FY 2025 | $10 million: Improvements to I-71/75/275 interchange
• 6-81.00 | P | FY 2024: Planning for major widening of I-471 from Ohio state line to US 27

Major Parkways

• 2-898.00 | C | FY 2025 | $14 million: Reconstruct Breathitt Parkway interchange with KY 1682 north of Hopkinsville
• 11-365.00 | C | FY 2024 | $10 million: Widen Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway from KY 30 to KY 192 in London
• 11-8909.00 + 11-8910.00 + 11-8911.00 + 11-8912.00 + 11-8913.00 | P/R/U/C | FY 2026 | $110 million: The improvement of the Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway to interstate standards between I-75/London and Hazard. I'm assuming this is the resumption of the I-66 project.
• 10-8903.00 | C | FY 2021 | $13 million: New Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway interchange at milepost 55. This is most likely at Briar Fork Circle Road west of Hazard.
• 11-8516.00 | C | FY 2026 | $8 million: Construct new intersection with KY 1482 on the Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway
• 10-169.00 | D | FY 2025: Extend four-lane Mountain Parkway along KY 114 corridor between US 460 and the Magoffin/Floyd County line
• 10-168.20 | C | FY 2022-23 | $48.5 million: Widen Mountain Parkway from KY 191 to KY 1010
• 10-168.50 | C | FY 2022-24 | $49 million: Widen Mountain Parkway from KY 1010 to KY 205

US Routes

US 25

• 11-147.00 + 11-185.00 | C | FY 2023-25 | $48 million: Part of the US 25 widening project to four lanes in between KY 192 in London and the Knox County line
• 11-8515.00 | D | FY 2023: Widen US 25 to four lanes from the Laurel County line to Corbin

US 27

• 8-167.00 | R/U | $19 million: Widen US 27 to four lanes between KY 1274 and Education Way
• 8-196.00 | C | FY 2021 | $6.5 million: Improve US 27 in Stanford from KY 590 to Bell Street
• 8-80009.00 | C | FY 2026 | $40 million: Widen US 27 to four lanes between Stanford and the Dix River
• 7-196.30 | C | FY 2025 | $38.5 million: Widen US 27 from two to four lanes from the future Lancaster bypass north to KY 34

US 60

• 1-118.00: Major widening of US 60 from two to four lanes between proposed southern bypass of LA Center to east of Denis Jones Road in FY 2024 ($14 million)
• 1-330.00 | C | FY 2025 | $24 million: Widen US 60 to four lanes from Tennessee River Bridge to Rudd-Spees Road
• 7-117.00 | C | FY 2026 | $15 million: Widen US 60 to six lanes from Bluegrass Parkway to Pisgah Pike
• 9-80050.00: Reconstruction of US 60 from the new Tygarts Creek bridge to I-64 near Olive Hill in FY 2026 ($17 million)
• 9-8400.00: Major widening of US 60 from two to four lanes between I-64 at Exit 181 to KY 180 in Cannonsburg in FY 2020 ($22.6 million)

Other

• 11-186.00 | C | FY 2-25 | $60 million: Widen US 25W from KY 727 to KY 3041
• 6-1084.00: Addressing deficiencies of Kentucky River bridge on US 42 in Prestonsville and Carrollton in FY 2024-25($22.5 million). Is this an outright replacement?
• 1-1140.00: US 51 Ohio River bridge replacement between Illinois and Kentucky ($36.85 million)
• 7-80001.00: Significant improvements along US 62 between Hilltop Drive to Tyrone Bridge over the Kentucky River ($23.33 million).
• 4-398.00 | C | FY 2026 | $22 million: Construct 4.5 mile US 68 bypass of Greensburg
• 3-80050.00 | C | FY 2026 | $100 million: Widen US 79 to four lanes between Todd County line and Russellville bypass
• 12-199.10 + 12-199.15 + 12-199.50 | C | $43 million: Reconstruct US 119 between KY 15 in Whitesburg to US 23
• 8-8601.26 + 8-8601.30 + 8-8601.21: Relocation of US 127 in the vicinity of Lake Cumberland in FY 2021 and FY 2026 ($107 million) on a new 28-mile route.
• 4-396.10 | C | FY 2025 | $43 million: Reconstruct US 150 from the Bluegrass Parkway to the Nelson/Washington County line
• 11-269.11 | C | FY 2022 | $15 million: Reconstruct US 421 between the existing four-lane section and the Virginia state line in Harlan County
• 12-263.67 | C | FY 2024-25 | $69.5 million: US 460/KY 80 project section 6C from Dunleary Hollow to KY 80 at Beaver Creek
• 12-263.69 | C | FY 2026 | $31.5 million: US 460/KY 80 project from KY 195 to Dunleary Hollow
• 1-314.20: Major widening of US 641 from Tenessee state line to Murray in FY 2021 ($22 million)
• 1-187.50 | C | FY 2024 | $24 million: Reconstruct US 641 between US 62 near Eddyville and Lyon/Caldwell County line
• 7-87.20 | C | FY 2022 | $17 million: Construct East Nicholasville bypass from KY 39 to KY 169

State Routes

KY 4/New Circle Road

• 7-113.02: Widen KY 4/New Circle Road to six and eight lanes between Leestown Road and Georgetown Road in Lexington in FY 2024 ($51 million)
• 7-438.00: Planning for the major widening of KY 4/New Circle Road between Trade Center Drive to Woodhill Drive
• 7-439.00: Planning for the major widening of KY 4/New Circle Road between Harrodsburg Road to Versailles Road

KY 9/AA Highway

• 9-147.20 + 9-147.60 | C | FY 2026 | $80 million: Construct KY 9/AA Highway bypass of Maysville from US 68 near Washington east to KY 9, including interchanges at KY 11 and KY 9

Other

• 9-132.00 | C | FY 2026 | $56 million: Reconstruct KY 2 from US 23 in Greenup for 4 miles south. This project was being discussed when I was in grade school 30 years ago!
• 6-1086.00 | D/R/U | FY 2024-26: Planning for the replacement of the KY 8 bridge over the Licking River in Covington and Newport
• 10-292.10 | C | FY 2-21 | $22 million: Reconstruct KY 11 between KY 30 at Levi to KY 587 in Lee County
• 10-376.00: Major widening of KY 15 from two to four lanes from new KY 15/30 intersection to KY 1812 in FY 2024 ($22 million). This is not the completion of the Jackson bypass but a widening of the existing route through town.
• 7-235.00 | C | FY 2022-24 | $26 million: Construct new terrain alignment for KY 52 from Wallace Mill Road to I-75 at Duncannon Road interchange
• 9-8807.00 | C | FY 2026 | $49 million: Reconstruct KY 57 between KY 9/AA Highway to Fleming/Lewis County line
• 9-231.00 | C | FY 2025-26 | $102 million: Reconstruct KY 59 between KY 9/AA Highway to KY 344
• 9-397.00: Safety/efficiency improvements along KY 67/Industrial Parkway in FY 2025-26 ($12 million). This may be related to the Braidy Industries project.
• 3-108.40 + 3-108.50: Improvements to KY 90 east of Glasgow from bridge over Fallen Timber Creek to Metcalfe County including a bypass of Eighty-Eight ($13.3 million)
• 5-8300.00 | C | FY 2021 | $14.8 million: Reconstruct KY 146 between New Castle and US 421 and Pendelton at KY 153
• 3-8859.00 | C | FY 2026 | $21 million: Construct KY 163/West Edmonton bypass from KY 163 at Gary Bell Road to US 68 at the Nunn Parkway
• 11-187.00 | C | FY 2021 | $18 million: Major widening of KY 192/London Bypass
• 12-198.00 | C | FY 2023-24 | $14.5 million: Reconstruct KY 194 from US 119 to Deskins Branch
• 9-8509.00 | C | FY 2026 | $51.5 million: Realign KY 207 between KY 67/Industrial Parkway and KY 693 in Flatwoods
• 10-163.10 | C | FY 2025-26 | $16 million: Reconstruct KY 213 from KY 11 to KY 615 including new bridge over Red River
• 9-8406.00 | C | FY 2023 | $19.4 million: Reconstruct KY 377 from KY 32 to KY 799
• 6-162.20 + 6-162.30 + 6-162.40 | C | FY 2021-24 | $70 million: Reconstruct KY 536 from railroad bridge to KY 1303 and from KY 1303 to KY 17
• 12-301.20: Construct new KY 680/Minnie-Harold Connector from Little Mud Creek Road to mouth of Tackett Creek in FY 2022 for $35 million
• 9-8915.00 | C | FY 2023-24 | $20 million: Reconstruct KY 801 from MMRC Regional Park to KY 158 in Fleming County
• 7-252.00: Widen KY 922/Newtown Pike to six lanes between KY 4 and I-75 in FY 2024 ($28 million)
• 7-8401.00: Completion of Winchester bypass (KY 1958) between KY 89 and KY 627 in FY 2024 ($36 million)
• 7-414.00 | C | FY 2026 | $27 million: Reconstruct KY 1980/Brannon Road from US 68/Harrodsburg Road to US 27/Nicholasville Road
• 4-8954.00 | C | FY 2023 | $14.7 million: Construct KY 3155/West Leitchfield bypass from KY 259 near the Western Kentucky Parkway to KY 54
• 7-192.20 | C | FY 2020 | $24 million: Construct four-lane Berea bypass from US25 to KY 1016
• 7-80000.00: Design of new east Danville bypass connecting US 150 and KY 34 ($2 million)
• 12-3.00 | C | FY 2025 | $26 million: New Yatesville Lake connector near Louisa between KY 3215 and KY 1185

[Buck87]

• 11-14.80 | C | FY 2025 | $61 million: Widen I-75 from milepost 20 in Whitley County to US 25E north of Corbin

Nice to see the widening is planned to continue further south. Most of the section listed here should be pretty standard widening, though there's one small section that will take some major work, immediately south of US 25E at the Lauren River (or maybe that's a tributary.) Those bridges there will need replaced, and there will most likely need to be rock blasting done immediately south of those bridges as well. 

[hbelkins]

Major flooding taking place in southeastern Kentucky. The flood walls are closed at Pineville, meaning US 25E is closed between Cumberland Gap and I-75.

[Rothman]

Major flooding taking place in southeastern Kentucky. The flood walls are closed at Pineville, meaning US 25E is closed between Cumberland Gap and I-75.

Yikes.

Of course, in some of those hollers, you can tell how high the flood was by the toilet paper left in the trees...

[hbelkins]

They reopened 25E a few hours later yesterday. I heard a media report that this was the first time the gates had been closed in 30 years. The floodwall was built after a devastating 1977 flood and the new route of 25E was built atop it.

[CardInLex]

With Mitch McConnell successfully getting the DoD to select Fort Knox as the fourth headquarters of the Army, do you all think we'll finally see the Gene Snyder (KY 841) between I-65 and US 31W/US 60 finally given the I-265 designation that the rest of the Gene Snyder has? (Albeit the northeastern most section that hasn't been signed yet).

[GreenLanternCorps]

With Mitch McConnell successfully getting the DoD to select Fort Knox as the fourth headquarters of the Army, do you all think we'll finally see the Gene Snyder (KY 841) between I-65 and US 31W/US 60 finally given the I-265 designation that the rest of the Gene Snyder has? (Albeit the northeastern most section that hasn't been signed yet).

To clarify, Fort Knox is going to host the Headquarters of V Corps, which is being reactivated this year:

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2020/02/12/army-resurrects-v-corps-after-seven-years-to-bolster-europe/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_Corps_(United_States)

I happen to have a game about V Corps...

[hbelkins]

With Mitch McConnell successfully getting the DoD to select Fort Knox as the fourth headquarters of the Army, do you all think we'll finally see the Gene Snyder (KY 841) between I-65 and US 31W/US 60 finally given the I-265 designation that the rest of the Gene Snyder has? (Albeit the northeastern most section that hasn't been signed yet).

Doubtful. I think most Ft. Knox traffic uses I-65 and KY 313.

[Tom958]

I stumbled upon an odd bridge over the Daniel Boone/Hal Rogers Parkway at mile 55 just west of Hazard.  It's built of precast concrete voided slabs and was completed in 1991, while the rest of the highway was built in the mid '70s with the arched concrete T beam bridges that are so ubiquitous in Kentucky.  The tacked-on W beam guardrail looks like something from Texas or maybe Missouri, nothing I'd expect to find in Kentucky outside of some remote county road (though, actually, it is a remote county road!). There's got to be a story behind it. Maybe a coal company built it. Or the county. Or maybe it was an experiment.

Other than the chintzy guardrail, I find the rectilinear lines to be rather handsome, and a welcome change from the ubiquity of those T beam bridges. There's money for an interchange in the state's new transportation plan, and HB tells me that the bridge will be replaced. Too bad, IMO.

[seicer]

Blair Fork Circle Road was built to connect KY Route 451 and Briarfork Road and Hurricane Branch Road. It doesn't appear that a bridge had ever been planned for the site.

[hbelkins]

Blair Fork Circle Road was built to connect KY Route 451 and Briarfork Road and Hurricane Branch Road. It doesn't appear that a bridge had ever been planned for the site.

I wonder if either: 1.) A coal company built that bridge to get coal from mines on the south side of the parkway over to KY 451 to haul out, or 2.) The county built that bridge under an encroachment permit. I might be able to ask at work.

[Tom958]

I wonder if either: 1.) A coal company built that bridge to get coal from mines on the south side of the parkway over to KY 451 to haul out, or 2.) The county built that bridge under an encroachment permit. I might be able to ask at work.

I'd appreciate that. The real question for me isn't why the bridge was built, but why it was built to such an unusual design. If it was an AASHTO beam or plate girder bridge, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[hbelkins]

I wonder if either: 1.) A coal company built that bridge to get coal from mines on the south side of the parkway over to KY 451 to haul out, or 2.) The county built that bridge under an encroachment permit. I might be able to ask at work.

I'd appreciate that. The real question for me isn't why the bridge was built, but why it was built to such an unusual design. If it was an AASHTO beam or plate girder bridge, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

That bridge design isn't all that uncommon for a lot of county roads, or even state highways for that matter, for stream crossings. See this bridge built not all that long ago on KY 11/KY 15 in Powell County crossing the Middle Fork of the Red River:

(Note: Street View does not have a recent image, and the KYTC Photolog is not loading for me at this time, but search for KY 11 in Powell County at MP 4.1 for an image of the new bridge. I will edit this post if I can get the link to come up for me.)

What is unusual is to see such a bridge spanning a limited access parkway.

[Tom958]

What is unusual is to see such a bridge spanning a limited access parkway.

Exactly. There are plenty in Georgia, especially in the northwest part of the state, but almost exclusively for low-volume rural roads. However, there's also this one carrying I-575 over Barrett Parkway just north of the junction with I-75, which was built in 1979 or so.*

Looking back at the satellite view of the area around the one near Hazard, there was in fact a huge strip mining operation there, now closed down and covered with green. The coal haul road theory is very convincing. Perhaps the new interchange is meant to make that area easier to market for development.

*I guess they chose voided slabs because they really wanted to keep the structure height to a minimum, though it could've been an experiment. Either way, both the northbound and southbound bridges are voided slabs even though there's plenty of headroom on the northbound side. As you see, they used regular AASHTO beams for the Tollercoaster, which is carried on those hammerhead columns.

[edwaleni]

Major flooding taking place in southeastern Kentucky. The flood walls are closed at Pineville, meaning US 25E is closed between Cumberland Gap and I-75.

I thought all the flood walls were to keep water off of US-25E when they closed? Like at Tennessee Ave and Pine street.

Or are you talking about the wall at Park Ave?

[milbfan]

Major flooding taking place in southeastern Kentucky. The flood walls are closed at Pineville, meaning US 25E is closed between Cumberland Gap and I-75.

I thought all the flood walls were to keep water off of US-25E when they closed? Like at Tennessee Ave and Pine street.

Or are you talking about the wall at Park Ave?

Near Park Ave/South End and near Dairy Queen/Northwest End.

According to this:  https://www.middlesborodailynews.com/2020/02/06/flood-gates-in-pineville-are-planned-to-be-closed-at-2-p-m/

Not sure about the other two gates being closed.

[seicer]

Highway safety project to upgrade six miles of US 60 around Rowan-Bath county line

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will upgrade six miles of US 60 around the Rowan-Bath county line this year as part of a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) project.

The project includes realigning a sharp curve at Bluestone and replacing the KY 801 intersection at Farmers with a mini-roundabout, as well as pavement improvements, new rumble strips, improved roadway markings, new guardrails and signs on US 60 from Cherry Lane at Midland in Bath County to Bluestone Road in Rowan County.

The mini-roundabout, a key component of the project, is designed to improve traffic efficiency and safety by changing the US 60-KY 801 intersection's traffic flow.

Despite existing flashing beacons, oversized stop signs and rumble strips in use there, the four-way-stop intersection currently sees a high number of high-speed, T-bone (right angle) and other types of severe crashes.

Replacing the intersection with a mini-roundabout will slow down approaching vehicles and direct all traffic into yield and merge movements. This will reduce the number of places where traffic crosses paths, thereby helping to prevent those right-angle and severe crashes.

Mini-roundabouts, which operate like regular roundabouts but in a much smaller footprint, promote efficient traffic flow by keeping cars moving. They also feature a middle island than can be driven across to accommodate large trucks, vehicles hauling boats, and similar traffic.

State highway engineers will hold an informational meeting in Farmers this month about mini-roundabouts and how they work, as well as about the overall US 60 safety project.

The meeting will take place 6-7 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Farmers Christian Church fellowship hall on KY 801 south near the US 60 intersection.

The public will be able to drop in at any time during that time to talk to highway engineers and look at plans for the safety project.

--

Curve realignment: https://goo.gl/maps/FpcTq7Gsa5wE7FVL6 (my assumption)

US 60 and KY Route 801 intersection: https://goo.gl/maps/vu6bgDZdGm8b63nHA

[hbelkins]

The last remaining text-based exit sign in Kentucky has been replaced.

https://goo.gl/maps/Q1rkC1k8njkk71KB6

Noticed this on Monday. I was also by there today, but was unable to get a photo of the new signage either time.