Higdon, Massaroni secure $86 million in state funds for local road projects

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Saturday, April 13, 20224 — Senate Transportation Chair Jimmy Higdon, and 50th District state Rep. Candy Massaroni have secured millions of dollars over the next two years supporting local road projects in Nelson County.

Included in the state’s two-year road plan, House Bill 266, Massaroni and Higdon helped secure nearly $86 million for planning, designing, obtaining rights-of-way, utility work, and construction of various projects in the county including:

• $31.69 million will be used to support two repaving and resurfacing projects on state roads in the county.

• $30.69 million to address conditions of Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway from mile point 24.095 to mile point 35.15.
  
  
• $13 million to improve safety, mobility, and geometrics on US Highway 150 from the Bluegrass Parkway to the Nelson-Washington County line,
  
  
  
• $10 million to construct a new route between US Highway 62 and KY Highway 245 west of Bardstown,
  
  
• $9 million to improve mobility and connectivity west of Bardstown from KY Highway 245 to US Highway 31 East near Cox’s Creek,
  
  
• $7 million to widen KY Highway 245 from Flaget Hospital through the Nelson-Bullitt County line to Happy Hollow Road,
  
  
• $6 million to construct a new route west of Bardstown from the Bluegrass Parkway near exit 21 to KY Highway 245,
  
  
  
• $5.58 million to widen US Highway 150 from KY Highway 49 to near KY Highway 245/Wal-Mart,
  
  
• $3 million to construct a new interchange on BG Parkway at KY Highway 1858 and a connector,
  
  
• $2.8 million to address geometric deficiencies along KY Highway 55 near Pleasant View Road in Bloomfield,
  
  
• $2.75 million to improve traffic operations and mobility along US Highway 31 East from KY Highway 509 to Bullitt County line,
  
  
• More than $1.8 million to support two bridge projects, one at US Highway 62 at Cedar Creek and another at King Road at East Fork Cox Creek at the Spencer County line.
  
  
• $40,000 to install guardrails on KY Highway 605 from 0.162 miles north of Early Times Boulevard to 0.169 miles southeast of Freeman Avenue to address a fatal accident site.

House Joint Resolution (HJR) 92 provides $777,000 to support county priority projects.

Additionally, HJR 91 includes scheduled projects and anticipated needs for the remaining four years of the six-year highway construction plan.

As a provision in HB 1, Higdon and the Senate successfully leveraged $450 million from Kentucky’s $3.7 billion budget reserve trust fund to boost the state’s road, bridge and highway repair efforts in the state road plan.

Budget-related bills are still subject to final changes and consideration of gubernatorial line-item vetoes during the final two days of the 2024 Legislative Session: Friday, April 12, and Monday, April 15.

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