Kentucky

[seicer]

The NBI has 1970 as the build date for the bridge that carries KY 909 over I-75.

I'm actually curious if there was a larger vision for KY 909. If you follow it west, it becomes a forest road and then ends at a ford over the Rockcastle. There are no project plans up at KYTC.

[hbelkins]

The NBI has 1970 as the build date for the bridge that carries KY 909 over I-75.

I'm actually curious if there was a larger vision for KY 909. If you follow it west, it becomes a forest road and then ends at a ford over the Rockcastle. There are no project plans up at KYTC.

There's a historic 1968 map online at the KYTC site, and it shows most of I-75 between Conway (where a temporary connector to US 25 is shown on the map and I remember seeing that piece of pavement during numerous trips from Irvine to London back in the late 80s-early 90s) and Corbin. All of the exits are shown for the under-construction segments except KY 909.

The only segment of I-75 that was open between Conway and the US 25W exit at Corbin was the segment between the two Mt. Vernon exits.

The 1973 map (the next one available online) shows the KY 909 exit.

[bandit957]

Has anyone ever tried to come up with a more efficient numbering system for Kentucky state highways? It might be hard to come up with anything better, just because of the nature of the system, but I know I tried coming up with a basic framework for it once.

Supposedly, they were originally numbered so odd numbers increased to the west, and even numbers increased to the south. But doesn't this mean KY 8 should be KY 2?

I've thought more about changes to individual routes. For example, it's easy to see how KY 1632 can be made part of KY 445.

[Rothman]

Given that KY's state highway system is constantly changing (seemingly), what they've got going is just as good as any other state with a whole lot of state highway mileage and a long history behind it to boot.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Anyone know why they numbered 620 the way they did?

[hbelkins]

Kentucky's grid generally works for the two-digit routes, although there are exceptions. At this point it would probably be cost-prohibitive and confusing to do a vast renumbering.

One thing that a person might note is that there are clusters of consecutive four-digit route numbers in the 3000-series in many counties. This happened when the state took over a number of routes that had previously been under county ownership in the 1980s.

I still haven't found a good comprehensive list of all the Kentucky state highways.

[bandit957]

Kentucky's grid generally works for the two-digit routes, although there are exceptions. At this point it would probably be cost-prohibitive and confusing to do a vast renumbering.

One thing that a person might note is that there are clusters of consecutive four-digit route numbers in the 3000-series in many counties. This happened when the state took over a number of routes that had previously been under county ownership in the 1980s.

I still haven't found a good comprehensive list of all the Kentucky state highways.

What I do now is download the shapefile and look at it as a map using QGIS. This is what I use for my log and any other projects I have.

I wrote up a program using FreeBASIC that sorts through the shapefile and compiles the log, so this is really like a list.

[jnewkirk77]

Anyone know why they numbered 620 the way they did?

My guess would be because it branches off of US 62. Sort of the same thing was done here in Daviess County with the old stretch of the US 60 bypass which became KY 603. I was actually surprised that one didn't get a 4-digit number, since Frederica Street did (KY 2831) when US 431 was pulled back to 60.

[bandit957]

Anyone know why they numbered 620 the way they did?

My guess would be because it branches off of US 62. Sort of the same thing was done here in Daviess County with the old stretch of the US 60 bypass which became KY 603. I was actually surprised that one didn't get a 4-digit number, since Frederica Street did (KY 2831) when US 431 was pulled back to 60.

I think the ones higher than 100 are usually sequential, with some exceptions.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Anyone know why they numbered 620 the way they did?

My guess would be because it branches off of US 62. Sort of the same thing was done here in Daviess County with the old stretch of the US 60 bypass which became KY 603. I was actually surprised that one didn't get a 4-digit number, since Frederica Street did (KY 2831) when US 431 was pulled back to 60.

Is that why it has that spiral shape?

[amroad17]

Anyone know why they numbered 620 the way they did?

My guess would be because it branches off of US 62. Sort of the same thing was done here in Daviess County with the old stretch of the US 60 bypass which became KY 603. I was actually surprised that one didn't get a 4-digit number, since Frederica Street did (KY 2831) when US 431 was pulled back to 60.

Is that why it has that spiral shape?

My guess is that KY 620 just kept being added to existing roads that fell under the KYTC jurisdiction north of Georgetown and ended as the spiral shape we see now.

[seicer]

Pretty much.

[bandit957]

KY 1120 is kind of like KY 620 in that it has a weird shape. It appears to have started out less weird, but parts kept being added to it.

[seicer]

KY 244 now has a spiral... but it's minor 

https://goo.gl/maps/CtsWg77viAiUTNJv9

[bandit957]

Since we're on the topic of KY 1120, does anyone know any details about it? I should be the expert on it, since I live close to it, but I don't know any more exact details.

It looks like it may have been established in the 1950s when Memorial Parkway was built, partly along what had been called Electric Avenue. It appears to have included East 10th in Newport and most of Memorial Parkway into Fort Thomas where it ended at some unnumbered streets. By 1961, it appears to have been extended south along Fort Thomas Avenue to US 27.

I don't think it was extended west to Covington until the 1970s. I remember seeing maps that didn't show that part, and then at some point, maps began showing it. We rarely used that stretch after I-275 was built across the Licking River around 1977, so I don't remember what the signage said. I do remember that what became KY 1120 had a toll bridge, and I remember when I was about 3 or 4, we kept driving across it to go to the cathedral in Covington for something. I wasn't on that bridge very much again until the early 1990s when I was in high school and the school bus kept using it. By that time, it was no longer toll, and it had long since become KY 1120.

[seicer]

Future I-569 corridor signs will be installed along the Western Kentucky Parkway from I-69 near Madisonville to I-165 near Beaver Dam: https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict2/posts/pfbid09xh8J3wvsyAtovnazf7osS14vgbjK55vfKFvmHPCaRsEvArv8XhJKGarNAmYvRZGl

- Related, the Western Kentucky Parkway Interstate Upgrade Study: https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Pages/Project-Details.aspx?Project=Western%20Kentucky%20Parkway%20Interstate%20Upgrade%20Study
- The full press release can be found at https://transportation.ky.gov/NewsRoom/I-569%20Signs%20Unveiled.pdf, or below:

New Highway Signs Mark 38-Mile Section of WK Parkway as "˜Future I-569'
Signs signal Beshear administration's commitment to economic development; corridor spans Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Ohio counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 21, 2022) — New highway signs marking a "Future I-569 Corridor"  on a threecounty section of the Wendell Ford Western Kentucky Parkway were unveiled today, signaling continued growth and Gov. Andy Beshear's commitment to economic development in all regions of the Commonwealth.

At the request of the Beshear administration, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) earlier this month approved the placement of signs on a 38.4-mile-long section of the Western Kentucky Parkway in Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties. The designated area begins in the west at the parkway's intersection with Interstate 69 south of Madisonville and continues east to its intersection with I-165 near Beaver Dam.

"Kentucky is on the move and looking to the future,"  Gov. Beshear said. "By securing federal approval for signs that mark the Western Kentucky Parkway as a future interstate, we're sending the message that Team Kentucky wholeheartedly supports Kentucky's business community."

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Jim Gray, who represented Gov. Beshear at an unveiling ceremony today, said the value of the Future I-569 Corridor signs is as much practical as it is symbolic.

"In this age of modern logistics and commerce, the importance of proximity to an interstate highway cannot be overstated,"  Secretary Gray said. "These signs send a very clear message to existing and prospective businesses and industries that are deciding where to locate and expand."

Today, four "Future I-569 Corridor"  signs will be installed- two in each direction of the Western Kentucky Parkway.

"This isn't just about about a road; it is also about a shift in our mindset,"  Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty said. "We're here to celebrate our future and ready to take advantage of new economic opportunities  for our area to help the communities along this corridor reach their potential. Good things can happen when so many individuals on the state, local, and federal levels come together to make entire projects like this possible. I appreciate each and everyone's commitment and efforts."  

"This recognition provides us even more economic opportunities as it validates our region as a logistics and distribution corridor,"  Ray Hagerman, Executive Director, Muhlenberg Alliance for Progress said.

Congress in 2019 granted the Future I-569 designation to the Hopkins-Muhlenberg-Ohio section of the Western Kentucky Parkway, and KYTC launched a study to determine the improvements needed to bring it up to interstate highway standards. The parkway was already a four-lane, controlled access highway. But like Kentucky's other parkways, it was built as a toll road, with cloverleaf interchanges to accommodate a toll booth plaza instead of the diamond interchanges and extended ramps better suited for an interstate. The Western Kentucky Parkway Upgrade Study concluded that the necessary upgrades and spot safety improvements would cost about $30 million. The largest single project would be the reconstruction of the cloverleaf interchange at Central City. The interchange project appears in the 2022 Enacted Highway Plan. Part of the Western Kentucky Parkway, from its interchange with the Pennyrile Parkway near Mortons Gap to its interchange with I-24 near Eddyville was previously upgraded and today is designated I-69. So, too, is the Pennyrile Parkway from Mortons Gap north to Henderson and the Purchase Parkway from I-24 to Mayfield. In addition, the one-time Natcher Parkway from Owensboro to Bowling Green is now I-165. Construction for the two-year project will begin in the spring to upgrade the remainder of the Purchase Parkway, from Mayfield to Fulton, so that it, too, can become part of I-69.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Future I-569 corridor signs will be installed along the Western Kentucky Parkway from I-69 near Madisonville to I-165 near Beaver Dam: https://www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict2/posts/pfbid09xh8J3wvsyAtovnazf7osS14vgbjK55vfKFvmHPCaRsEvArv8XhJKGarNAmYvRZGl

- Related, the Western Kentucky Parkway Interstate Upgrade Study: https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Pages/Project-Details.aspx?Project=Western%20Kentucky%20Parkway%20Interstate%20Upgrade%20Study
- The full press release can be found at https://transportation.ky.gov/NewsRoom/I-569%20Signs%20Unveiled.pdf, or below:

New Highway Signs Mark 38-Mile Section of WK Parkway as "˜Future I-569'
Signs signal Beshear administration's commitment to economic development; corridor spans Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Ohio counties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 21, 2022) — New highway signs marking a "Future I-569 Corridor"  on a threecounty section of the Wendell Ford Western Kentucky Parkway were unveiled today, signaling continued growth and Gov. Andy Beshear's commitment to economic development in all regions of the Commonwealth.

At the request of the Beshear administration, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) earlier this month approved the placement of signs on a 38.4-mile-long section of the Western Kentucky Parkway in Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties. The designated area begins in the west at the parkway's intersection with Interstate 69 south of Madisonville and continues east to its intersection with I-165 near Beaver Dam.

"Kentucky is on the move and looking to the future,"  Gov. Beshear said. "By securing federal approval for signs that mark the Western Kentucky Parkway as a future interstate, we're sending the message that Team Kentucky wholeheartedly supports Kentucky's business community."

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Jim Gray, who represented Gov. Beshear at an unveiling ceremony today, said the value of the Future I-569 Corridor signs is as much practical as it is symbolic.

"In this age of modern logistics and commerce, the importance of proximity to an interstate highway cannot be overstated,"  Secretary Gray said. "These signs send a very clear message to existing and prospective businesses and industries that are deciding where to locate and expand."

Today, four "Future I-569 Corridor"  signs will be installed- two in each direction of the Western Kentucky Parkway.

"This isn't just about about a road; it is also about a shift in our mindset,"  Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty said. "We're here to celebrate our future and ready to take advantage of new economic opportunities  for our area to help the communities along this corridor reach their potential. Good things can happen when so many individuals on the state, local, and federal levels come together to make entire projects like this possible. I appreciate each and everyone's commitment and efforts."  

"This recognition provides us even more economic opportunities as it validates our region as a logistics and distribution corridor,"  Ray Hagerman, Executive Director, Muhlenberg Alliance for Progress said.

Congress in 2019 granted the Future I-569 designation to the Hopkins-Muhlenberg-Ohio section of the Western Kentucky Parkway, and KYTC launched a study to determine the improvements needed to bring it up to interstate highway standards. The parkway was already a four-lane, controlled access highway. But like Kentucky's other parkways, it was built as a toll road, with cloverleaf interchanges to accommodate a toll booth plaza instead of the diamond interchanges and extended ramps better suited for an interstate. The Western Kentucky Parkway Upgrade Study concluded that the necessary upgrades and spot safety improvements would cost about $30 million. The largest single project would be the reconstruction of the cloverleaf interchange at Central City. The interchange project appears in the 2022 Enacted Highway Plan. Part of the Western Kentucky Parkway, from its interchange with the Pennyrile Parkway near Mortons Gap to its interchange with I-24 near Eddyville was previously upgraded and today is designated I-69. So, too, is the Pennyrile Parkway from Mortons Gap north to Henderson and the Purchase Parkway from I-24 to Mayfield. In addition, the one-time Natcher Parkway from Owensboro to Bowling Green is now I-165. Construction for the two-year project will begin in the spring to upgrade the remainder of the Purchase Parkway, from Mayfield to Fulton, so that it, too, can become part of I-69.

I am curious if KYTC has plans to extend I-569 eastwards toward Elizabethtown to cover the rest of Western Kentucky Parkway...

[bandit957]

Does Kentucky allow Interstate numbers to be duplicated on state routes now? There's still a KY 69 and a KY 165.

[The Ghostbuster]

Maybe Interstate 569 will be designated with an eastern terminus at Interstate 165 initially, and then the 569 designation will be extended to Interstate 65 at a much later date. Personally, i think future 569 should have been designated from Interstate 69/future Interstate 169 all the way to Interstate 65 in the first place, but maybe it would have cost too much to upgrade both the 69/169-to-165 and the 165-to-65 segments to Interstate Standards altogether.

[XamotCGC]

The county I from in Kentucky has 7 4 Digit Numbered roads

[hbelkins]

Maybe Interstate 569 will be designated with an eastern terminus at Interstate 165 initially, and then the 569 designation will be extended to Interstate 65 at a much later date. Personally, i think future 569 should have been designated from Interstate 69/future Interstate 169 all the way to Interstate 65 in the first place, but maybe it would have cost too much to upgrade both the 69/169-to-165 and the 165-to-65 segments to Interstate Standards altogether.

I'm not sure what upgrades are needed between the Natcher and E-town. The biggest upgrade on the segment between the Pennyrile and the Natcher (this future I-569) is the toll booth cloverleaf at US 431/KY 70. The old toll booth cloverleaf at Leitchfield has already been converted to a diamond.

[amroad17]

Does Kentucky allow Interstate numbers to be duplicated on state routes now? There's still a KY 69 and a KY 165.

There is also a KY 169 (Versailles to Richmond) and a KY 569 (Hart Co.-Taylor Co.).  Of course, all these were commissioned before any thoughts of I-69 (and any I-x69's) and I-165.  Maybe these state routes will be changed in the future.

[amroad17]

I received an alert on my phone around 10 pm Friday evening with the message that I-71 NB at the 62 mm (near the Glencoe, KY interchange) was impassable and is closed for 12-18 hours.  Apparently, KYTC or Gallatin County have been unable to properly plow in that area.  There is a decent hill NB just past the interchange and vehicles, especially tractor-trailers, cannot negotiate the downhill portion.  SB I-71 is moving slowly, which to me is surprising since the same hill has to be negotiated also.

This after an accident late Thursday night at mm 63, at the base of the hill, that closed all lanes of I-71.  The SB backup was all the way back to the Verona interchange (9 miles back)--not sure about the NB backup.  Vehicles near the accident site were there for 12 hours and many of the tractor-trailers that were waiting had their brake lines freeze.

Temperature dropped from 43F at 9 pm Thursday to 7F by 1:30 am Friday.  The low here in Covington was -8F at 7 am.  It never got above 3F Friday with most of the day at 0F with 20 mph winds from the west.

Here is the view on I-71 NB just past the Glencoe interchange: https://goo.gl/maps/ggooFynZvs1DkZP8A
Here is a view looking back toward the Glencoe interchange: https://goo.gl/maps/AHwQDv7ADeFNjWCE8

This is the area of "impassability".  Once reaching the base of the hill, one would drive about 1/2 mile before ascending another hill NB.  So, I-71, especially NB, is a huge mess and should be avoided at least until late Saturday afternoon.

[ibthebigd]

I wonder if they will try to 3 Lane this stretch after this mess.

That's what they did in Mt Vernon area after a similar situation.

SM-G996U

[seicer]

Widening is dictated generally by traffic counts, not occasional snowfalls and an accident that is exaggerated by vehicles driving on the shoulder and going off the edge of the highway. The roadway, from what I've read, froze very quickly because of wet roadways, quick snow bursts, and rapidly dropping temperatures, and no amount of widening would have resolved the fundamentals.

Related, why did so many receive the government notice? I had all of my alerts turned off on my phone yet I received one - at around 10:30 PM - despite living 2.5 hours east. My friend in Pikeville also received one at a different time. What a good way to get people to ignore these alerts than by sending them out to everyone?