Beshear announces highway plan for improvement of Kentucky roadways

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KFVS) - Kentucky’s governor has presented a new plan to prepare road’s and bridges

On Friday, Gov. Andy Beshear presented the 2022 Governor’s Recommended Highway Plan.

The plan is based on anticipated revenues of $8.5 billion through 2028, in a combination of $6.2 billion in federal aid and $2.3 billion in anticipated state revenues.

“My Recommended Highway Plan is fiscally responsible, regionally diverse and data-driven,” Beshear said. “It will enhance safety, accessibility and the quality of life for all of our citizens. It also provides a way to pursue the types of investments we need to build on the record-setting economic development of the past two years.”

A few of the goals include:

Replacing concrete on I-24, I-64 and I-65
Repairing 200 lane-miles of concrete interstate pavement
Rehabilitating pavement on I-71 and the Bluegrass Parkway
Replacing the Carrollton Truss Bridge – U.S. 42/KY 36 over the Kentucky River
Replacing four bridges on I-65 in the Louisville metropolitan corridor
Rehabilitating U.S. 62 Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River at Maysville
Replacing the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Cairo Bridge at Ballard County

“Kentucky owns and maintains over 9,000 bridges and over 63,000 lane-miles of pavement. That’s the seventh-largest bridge system and eighth-largest pavement system in the nation,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Jim Gray said. “It is critically important that KYTC manages and maintains these assets in a state of good repair for the health, safety and economic vitality of the state.”