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[seicer]

A super-two bypass is being planned for Kevil extending west to La Center. Traffic counts decrease significantly west of West Paducah, but if the goal is to provide regional connectivity, a two-lane bridge west of Barlow would probably still suffice. It isn't going to provide connectivity that doesn't already exist at Cairo.

[JREwing78]

Overall, a new US 60 corridor is of greater benefit to Kentucky than is maintaining the current travel time between Wickliffe and Cairo. It sounds like KYTC moved the goalposts a bit to get a more desired result.

I'm not sure how far west of Paducah the four-lane US 60 extends, but that route has been incrementally widened westward the past few years.

Last time I was down there (within the past 2 years), the four-lane still ended just east of Kevil. I don't recall any construction ongoing at that time.

I'll be interested to see how well they can sell the projected $1.2-1.3 billion cost, environmental impacts and so on, all in the interest of saving 10 minutes of drive time.

They could certainly sell it on economic development. This would directly connect to both the I-57 extension to Little Rock and the existing US-60 4-lane to Springfield, MO. Combine that with the W. Kentucky Parkway and you have a viable E-W path as an alternative to I-40 or I-64, one certainly worth of an Interstate shield. One could also extend this corridor further west to Wichita, KS following US-400, and maybe even farther west still.

Put this all together, and this highway would interconnect with every N-S Interstate from I-35 to I-75. It could make Paducah and Cairo major logistics hubs servicing a huge swath of the country.

If I was involved with economic development in western Kentucky, I would be schmoozing every politician I could to make this happen.

My totally fictional line on a map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cg5D88eRgnUnDasm6

[Rothman]

Call it...I-86...

[seicer]

Consider the example of Interstate 66, which was once proposed to extend through an area similar to Cairo.

Regarding economic development, it's important to recall Cairo's history as a logistics hub during the steamboat and ferry eras. The construction of the railroad bridge over the Ohio River, followed by two automobile bridges, marked a significant economic shift for the city. The introduction of diesel tugs, which reduced the need for layovers in Cairo, was a major blow to the local economy. Additionally, longstanding racial tensions have further complicated the city's economic challenges, leaving only a handful of industries and businesses currently operating in Cairo. It's unlikely that a new interstate would directly address these deep-rooted issues.

However, there is a positive aspect to consider: the construction of a new interstate would at least ensure a seismically sound connection between the two states. This could provide some infrastructure stability and potentially contribute to future opportunities