Road Plans Considered
PHOTO | Greg Wells – District 1 Magistrate Rondall Wray, Burkesville mayor Laurel Irby and Emergency Management Director Greg Cary, left, joined County judge-Executive Luke King and District 2 Magistrate Lane Cope, kneeling and bending over, in examining the states map of proposed road work in the county. Standing at the right is District 8 Chief Engineer James Jones, and seated is Jeff Dick, who oversees planning for District 8, which includes Cumberland County.
Mayor, Judge agree on proposed change to road work priorities
By Greg Wells
CCN-editor
A proposed bypass that would take traffic completely around Burkesville was one of four proposals that District 8 staff from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet came to talk about last Friday.
No.
That was the position of both mayor Laurel Irby and County Judge-Executive Luke King on that project.
Both indicated that the damage to the local economy would likely be devastating, if a bypass routed all tourism traffic around the city.
The highway engineers had already removed that from the three proposals they were willing to put to Frankfort, so everyone was in agreement.
Of the three proposals left on the table, 2 were related to reconstruction on KY-90 in the Marrowbone area.
King said he was somewhat interested in the smaller of those two projects, but one of the projects he and Irby were both pushing for, with serious changes.
“The proposal I’ve seen was completely relocating Modock Road (KY-449) after you get off 90,” King said.
He explained that the millions of dollars it would take to straighten that road, by dynamiting a straight path through those hills, was likely to prevent it from ever being done.
“What we really need is for that road to be widened from past Oil Fork Road through all those curves to the top of the hill,” King said.
He explained to the engineers that the number of large motorhomes and large boats that vacationers take to the lake makes that stretch of road intimidating.
Going down south KY-61 to get to Dale Hollow Lake was not as attractive to those coming from Northern states, though it was used by those coming through Tennessee.
However, most of those coming from Tennessee don’t come up to Kentucky attractions.
Irby indicated her agreement that this was a matter that needs addressing.
However, the district’s ‘scoring’ for proposed roadwork has that work as the least urgent.
But the judge, mayor magistrates and others asked if anything could be done to move this work to the front of the line.
Jeff Dick, who oversees planning for the local district said that they would look at this much less expensive proposal and see what could be done.
The deadline for the submissions, however, is May 9.
