AASHTO Journal - Kentucky Opens Another New Mountain Parkway Section

Governor Andy Beshear (D) recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new 11-mile Wolfe County segment of the Mountain Parkway Expansion project in Eastern Kentucky.

[Above photo by KYTC]

The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a 45-mile project aimed at creating a wider and safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the state. It is a key transportation project designed to close the only gap in a 400-mile, four-lane, high-speed corridor for commerce and mobility across Kentucky from Pikeville to Paducah, noted the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet – widening 32 miles of existing parkway from two to four lanes and extending the parkway by 13 miles from Salyersville to Prestonsburg.

“This took a tremendous amount of work, and the end result means we have taken another step forward in making it safer, easier and faster for families to live, learn, work and connect across Eastern Kentucky,” the governor said in a statement.

Construction of the $100 million 11-mile Wolfe County segment began in 2022 and benefitted from a $55 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation originally received in 2020.

It is the last of six projects aimed at widening the original Mountain Parkway’s two-lane route through mountainous terrain between Campton and Salyersville to four-lanes. Completion of the Wolfe County section leaves only the sixth and final project remaining in the Mountain Parkway Expansion – the 13-mile Magoffin Floyd segment; an all-new, cross-country piece of the parkway that will provide a four-lane connection from Salyersville to Kentucky Highway 114 near Prestonsburg.

“This is a transformational transportation corridor for Eastern Kentucky,” noted Rebecca Goodman, KYTC secretary. “We are honored to be providing Kentuckians with the modern corridor they deserve while making it easier and safer for people from the commonwealth and beyond to benefit from all that Eastern Kentucky has to offer.”