A 38-mile segment of the Western Kentucky Parkway has been given official approval as part of the commonwealth's I-69 corridor. Gov. Steve Beshear made the announcement today that federal approval will this fall designate the stretch of parkway as I-69, a new north-south corridor from Canada to Mexico.
It is the first segment of what eventually will become an I-69 corridor from Henderson to Fulton, incorporating the Purchase Parkway, Pennyrile Parkway and a portion of Interstate 24 in addition to the Western Kentucky Parkway.
“This is a breakthrough for the people of Kentucky – and especially for folks in the Pennyrile region,” Beshear said. “The addition of a second designated interstate highway in the region will open doors for economic development. This is truly a landmark achievement.”
“But we are not finished,” the governor said. “Now we turn to the work still ahead of us to complete an entire I-69 corridor from the Ohio River at Henderson to the Tennessee border at Fulton.”
The agreement, which Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez approved on Aug. 25, covers the Western Kentucky Parkway from its interchange with I-24 near Eddyville to its interchange with the Pennyrile Parkway near Nortonville in Hopkins County.
The agreement spells out improvements the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will undertake to bring parts of the parkway up to interstate standards. It also identifies design features that are at less than interstate standard but which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has deemed acceptable.
Once the agreed improvements have been advertised to construction contractors, the designated section of the Western Kentucky Parkway will be eligible for the distinctive red, white and blue shield signs that identify interstate routes. In addition, about 17 miles of I-24, from Eddyville to the Purchase Parkway interchange, will also bear I-69 signs, making the total, initial I-69 designation 55 miles long.
Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said the projects should be advertised by Sept. 30, for inclusion in a construction contract letting that is scheduled Oct. 21. The work will include upgrading bridge rails and guardrails, improving exit and entrance ramps to meet interstate standards, and raising some overpass bridges to increase clearance.
Future agreed improvements will include widening paved shoulders and reconstructing the Ky. 109 interchange at Dawson Springs.
When the initial concept for an alternate U.S. 641 began being pushed in 1999, then Judge-Executive Victor "Pippi" Hardin had pitched the roadway as an alternative for the I-69 corridor.
