Kentucky Completes 20-Year Transportation Project

Governor Andy Beshear (D) and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet recently celebrated the completion of a “redefining” 20-year transportation project that improves safety, connectivity, and economic opportunities in southeastern Kentucky.

[Above photo KYTC]

Alongside the new, wider Kentucky Highway 30 – which stretches for 33 miles – the old KY 30 remains in service for local traffic.

Gov. Andy Beshear

“This project demonstrates the power of infrastructure to boost the quality of life for Kentuckians by introducing a safer, faster route to keep them connected,” explained Gov. Beshear in a statement.

“This project shaved off half the time it took to go from Booneville to London, making life-saving emergency services quicker,” he added. “It also means locals can live here and have shorter commutes to work.”

“This visionary project is the culmination of decades of hard work and demonstrates the Team Kentucky spirit of what’s possible when we work together,” noted KYTC Secretary Jim Gray.

KYTC’s Jim Gray at podium. Photo by KYTC.

“The new KY 30 is more efficient for large trucks and commuters to navigate, gives stalled vehicles a place to safely stow in an emergency and it makes the scenic cross-county drive more enjoyable,” he said.

The project also straightened a previously curvy 13.5-mile corridor – reducing travel times and improving safety for motorists and commercial trucks alike, he said.

Gray also signed an official order designating a six-mile stretch of KY 30 in Jackson County as the “Marie Rader Highway,” after former state representative Marie Rader, who championed the project during her two-decade career in the legislature.

“This section of road provides a lifeline for the residents for today and the future,” Raeder said at the event. “It provides safe travel to hospitals, jobs, education and recreation – also allowing residents to remain on family farms and homes. Thanks so much for the all parties involved in the success of KY 30.”

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