Kentucky

[Revive 755]

^ From the KY 91 intersection south of Marion to the KY 91 intersection north of Freedonia?  Unless that section was being four-laned when the aerial photos Google has were taken.

[Harvestman]

^ From the KY 91 intersection south of Marion to the KY 91 intersection north of Freedonia?  Unless that section was being four-laned when the aerial photos Google has were taken.

That'd be it, thanks.  Why exactly was that stretch under consideration to be four-laned in the first place...?  From what I saw of the traffic flow, it seemed to be doing fine with just two.

[CardInLex]

KYTC buys ROW and designs for ultimate four lanes a lot of the time. But, it is odd that the bridge structures and grading already took place.

[seicer]

Considering that they are only projecting a ~5,500 AADT by 2030, it's very much overbuilt. The new route was built to connect US 60 to Interstate 69.

I'm surprised they added the bridges considering they didn't for KY Route 67/Industrial Parkway.

[seicer]

From the Courier-Journal [Louisville], 15 Mar. 1969, p. B1:

[seicer]

So I was curious about the very large terminus of KY Route 67 / Industrial Parkway at Interstate 64 - it certainly appears that it is built to accommodate an extension southward (along with four-lane expansion): https://goo.gl/maps/BU7WSBmVjc7qbC1A9



I was looking through KYTC's project archives and came across this on page 111 of the phase one project plans for the parkway. THere is a marking for the future mainline to proceed south.





--

Looking at the other plans, it seems that the ultimate goal is to build overpasses at all of the intersections and have right-in, right-out movements for those turns to eliminate any cross-median traffic. Some of these stubs were not graded.

[Bitmapped]

So I was curious about the very large terminus of KY Route 67 / Industrial Parkway at Interstate 64 - it certainly appears that it is built to accommodate an extension southward (along with four-lane expansion): https://goo.gl/maps/BU7WSBmVjc7qbC1A9

This is pretty much the mirror image of the interchange between the US 22 freeway connector and I-99 at Hollidaysburg, PA: https://goo.gl/maps/gSdSz4yhmxWFJ6dD6. The Pennsylvania interchange also looks like it was intended for the mainline to be extended, although I can't figure out what the final configuration would actually be.

[The Ghostbuster]

Were traffic counts too low to have justified building the KY 67 Industrial Parkway as a freeway, even as a two-lane one?

[seicer]

Pretty much. The southernmost segment has 6,000 VPD dropping to under 5,000 VPD on the northernmost segment in 2014. The intersecting roads have barely any traffic, with KY Route 207 clocking in at 1,300 - 2,100 VPD and one of the side roads getting barely above 200 VPD. Others are just gravel roads to cemeteries or to undeveloped plots of land on old strip mine sites.

[Buck87]

Others are just gravel roads to cemeteries or to undeveloped plots of land on old strip mine sites.

There's a wedding venue now on Brush Creek Rd. Won't add any traffic of significance, though I thought it was noteworthy, since my traveling to a wedding there last fall was the first time I'd ever used SR 67 for a purpose other than bypassing Ashland.

[seicer]

The southern extension of KY Route 67 would align up with alternate 9 of the KY Route 645 northern extension that was proposed in 2006 (and rejected): https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Planning%20Studies%20and%20Reports/Ky%20-%20645%20Regional%20Corridor%20Study%202_Report%20Text.pdf

Looking further down in the text, the KY Route 645 project was to be extended north to meet KY Route 67 at Interstate 64 as per the original project description. Through analysis, the alignment was shifted west toward Olive Hill and Morehead.

[hbelkins]

The southern extension of KY Route 67 would align up with alternate 9 of the KY Route 645 northern extension that was proposed in 2006 (and rejected): https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Planning%20Studies%20and%20Reports/Ky%20-%20645%20Regional%20Corridor%20Study%202_Report%20Text.pdf

Looking further down in the text, the KY Route 645 project was to be extended north to meet KY Route 67 at Interstate 64 as per the original project description. Through analysis, the alignment was shifted west toward Olive Hill and Morehead.

I'm going to venture a guess that Rocky Adkins played a major role in getting that corridor shifted closer to Elliott County. At the time, Adkins was an influential legislator from Sandy Hook. He's now a senior advisor to the governor, having run for governor himself in 2019 and finishing second in the primary.

[seicer]

It looked like that the public really didn't buy into that alternative toward KY Route 67 either. It would essentially parallel US Route 23 but be two lanes and through a desolate area of the counties.

[Captain Jack]

From the Courier-Journal [Louisville], 15 Mar. 1969, p. B1:

I have always been impressed with how fast Kentucky put together the parkways in the 60's. I know the Pennyrile for example went from conception to completion in less than 5 years....and it's not like it was the only one going at that time.

[I-55]

From the Courier-Journal [Louisville], 15 Mar. 1969, p. B1:

I have always been impressed with how fast Kentucky put together the parkways in the 60's. I know the Pennyrile for example went from conception to completion in less than 5 years....and it's not like it was the only one going at that time.

And just look at how fast we build things now with better technology.

[Life in Paradise]

From the Courier-Journal [Louisville], 15 Mar. 1969, p. B1:

I have always been impressed with how fast Kentucky put together the parkways in the 60's. I know the Pennyrile for example went from conception to completion in less than 5 years....and it's not like it was the only one going at that time.

And just look at how fast we build things now with better technology.

And just imagine how much that stretch of road would cost in today's dollars; much more than simple adjustment for the CPI.

[tidecat]

A new exit on I-65 in Bullitt County is open:

https://www.wdrb.com/news/initial-construction-underway-for-i-65-interchange-in-bullitt-county/article_9455cd96-446e-11e9-8694-67e469b6337c.html

[74/171FAN]

A new exit on I-65 in Bullitt County is open:

https://www.wdrb.com/news/initial-construction-underway-for-i-65-interchange-in-bullitt-county/article_9455cd96-446e-11e9-8694-67e469b6337c.html

I think you meant to post this link. (https://www.wdrb.com/news/new-i-65-exit-in-bullitt-county-open-economic-impact-expected/article_ea7637d8-7aea-11eb-b83f-0f14092fffbf.html)

[hbelkins]

A new exit on I-65 in Bullitt County is open:

https://www.wdrb.com/news/initial-construction-underway-for-i-65-interchange-in-bullitt-county/article_9455cd96-446e-11e9-8694-67e469b6337c.html

I think you meant to post this link. (https://www.wdrb.com/news/new-i-65-exit-in-bullitt-county-open-economic-impact-expected/article_ea7637d8-7aea-11eb-b83f-0f14092fffbf.html)

This needs to go in the recently-resurrected thread of Cody's about wasteful highway projects.

[hbelkins]

Concerning Kentucky's use of the term "parkway" for its former toll roads that are virtually indistinguishable from interstates...

Had a call the other day from someone who was wondering if there were truck restrictions on the Mountain Parkway. I could tell he was from elsewhere because he referred to it as the "Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway." I was trying to explain the nature of the roads and he didn't quite seem to grasp what I was saying, until I said "In Kentucky, the term 'parkway' is vastly different than how it's used in New York City." After that, he fully understood my point.

This was the first time I'd ever gotten a query like that.

[Dirt Roads]

Concerning Kentucky's use of the term "parkway" for its former toll roads that are virtually indistinguishable from interstates...

Growing up in West Virginia, I always thought Kentucky was wealthy because of its Parkway System.  My dad would always remind me that Scott Depot had more bluegrass than the whole state of Kentucky, and nearly as many horse farms (but they weren't very big).  As best as I can tell, all of the horse farms in Teays Valley are now gone.

[ibthebigd]

Is the old Service Plaza right past I-165 the only service plaza in Kentucky?

SM-G950U

[hbelkins]

Is the old Service Plaza right past I-165 the only service plaza in Kentucky?

SM-G950U

Yes, it's the only one left. The two that were on the old Kentucky Turnpike are long gone.

[plain]

There's a couple more places on the WK Pkwy (and one on the BG Pkwy) where the median is widened. It looks like they were made like that in case KY wanted to add service plazas there but they never built them.

[Life in Paradise]

There's a couple more places on the WK Pkwy (and one on the BG Pkwy) where the median is widened. It looks like they were made like that in case KY wanted to add service plazas there but they never built them.

One of those I believe is near Nortonville where a post of the Kentucky State Police is located.