FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear today presented a 2022 Recommended Highway Plan that puts a priority on repairing and preserving pavement and bridges and positions Kentucky to compete for federal funding to advance large-scale projects critical to Kentucky’s continued economic growth.
The 2022 Governor’s Recommended Highway Plan is based on anticipated revenues of $8.5 billion through 2028 – $6.2 billion in federal-aid highway program funding and $2.3 billion in anticipated state revenues.
“My Recommended Highway Plan is fiscally responsible, regionally diverse and data-driven,” Beshear said. “It will enhance safety, accessibility and the quality of life for all of our citizens. It also provides a way to pursue the types of investments we need to build on the record-setting economic development of the past two years.”
Separately from the highway plan, Beshear’s recommended budget proposes to use $250 million in state funds as matching funds for federal grants for three of Beshear’s top transportation priorities:
- Toll-free funding of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project in Northern Kentucky, including construction of a companion bridge to share the volume of traffic on Interstates 71 and 75 between Covington and Cincinnati.
- Continued development of the I-69 Ohio River crossing at Henderson.
- Widening work necessary to extend the four-lane Mountain Parkway along KY Route 114 from Salyersville to Prestonsburg.
Beshear’s recommended plan also would provide $3.6 billion, nearly $600 million a year, to address a backlog of deficient bridges and needed pavement repairs.
“Kentucky owns and maintains over 9,000 bridges and over 63,000 lane-miles of pavement. That’s the seventh-largest bridge system and eighth-largest pavement system in the nation,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said. “It is critically important that KYTC manages and maintains these assets in a state of good repair for the health, safety and economic vitality of the state.”
Pavement preservation projects include asphalt resurfacing and repairs and diamond grinding of concrete pavements. Bridge preservation projects include painting, deck overlays and minor repairs. There also are projects to replace a number of old bridges across the state, including more than 30 that were built on timbers.
Highway system performance projects are selected through a data-driven process that considers the overall needs of the bridge and pavement network, the present condition of each specific asset, estimated project cost and value, and performance goals. Prioritization models include effects on mobility, asset condition, expected deterioration, risk and benefit.
Asset project highlights include:
- Replacement of concrete pavement on Interstates 24, 64 and 65.
- Repair and grinding of 200 lane-miles of concrete interstate pavement.
- Rehabilitation of failing pavement on I-71 and the Bluegrass Parkway.
- Replacement of the Carrollton Truss Bridge – U.S. 42/KY 36 over the Kentucky River.
- Replacement of four bridges on I-65 in the Louisville metropolitan corridor.
- Rehabilitation of the U.S. 62 Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River at Maysville.
- Replacement of the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Cairo Bridge at Ballard County.
In addition, the recommended plan provides for statewide funding of a host of more generalized work including emergency bridge and pavement repair and replacement, rockfall and landslide mitigation and repair, highway safety projects near schools, bridge inspections, and projects to improve local traffic congestion and air quality.
The 2022 Governor’s Recommended Highway Plan is available here.