The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) this week rolled out its 2020 Recommended Highway Plan that features a historic two-year investment of $100 million to improve safety conditions on rural roads through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP).
The plan—which KYTC says would prioritize safety and fast-track major regional access projects to improve the quality of life for Kentucky residents—also infuses $8 million in the biennium to install more than 100 miles of life-saving guardrail across the state and invests $367.5 million to accelerate progress on the Mountain Parkway and I-69 Ohio River Crossing projects.
The additional state funding that would boost federal HSIP activities to $100 million over the next two years was made possible by adding $23 million in state funding to the HSIP effort. The plan also advances five school safety projects, with $10.7 million set aside to build new turn lanes that address traffic congestion and improve access in and out of schools in five counties.
The $8 million for the guardrail program aims to address over 400 guardrail projects in the state's 3,400-mile backlog of guardrail needs, as well as providing a solution to the 60% of traffic-related deaths in the state that result from highway departures.
The plan continues to invest $80 million annually in the repair and replacement of critical bridges across the Commonwealth, and also invests up to $200 million annually in the improvement of pavement conditions statewide.
Among some of the major regional access projects highlighted in the plan, KYTC included a total of $77 million in design, right of way, utilities, and construction funding over the next two years to build a portion of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing in western Kentucky.
KYTC says the 2020 Recommended Highway Plan is based on revenue forecasts of $6.1 billion in traditional state and federal highway dollars during FY 2021 - 2026.
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SOURCE: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
