Governor Steve Beshear has announced that Kentucky has taken a significant step toward realizing a long-held goal of a six-lane Interstate 65 from the Ohio River to the Tennessee line.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) awarded a $138.48 million contract to rebuild 17 miles of the interstate in Hart, LaRue and Hardin counties, widening it to six lanes – three in each direction – from four lanes.
The project area stretches from mile point 64.9 in Hart County, near Munfordville, through LaRue County to mile point 82.2 in Hardin County, near Sonora.
Once the project is completed, in 2017, less than 10 miles of I-65 – all in Hardin County, south of Elizabethtown – will remain to be six-laned. The highway is already six lanes from Elizabethtown to the Ohio River, at Louisville.
“This latest award gets us one giant step closer to completing the widening of I-65 in its entirety in Kentucky,” Gov Beshear said. “The project is badly needed because of I-65’s importance as a commercial and travel corridor, stretching from Chicago to Alabama. Kentucky is doing its part to keep the travel public safe and the interstate free of congestion.”
Since 2000, KYTC has awarded multiple contracts totaling more than $600 million to widen I-65 from the Tennessee line to Elizabethtown. A section that ends near Munfordville is currently under construction. The project for which a contract was awarded Wednesday will pick up where the current project ends.
Scotty’s Contracting and Stone LLC won the contract on a low bid of $138,485,749. The contract has a completion date of May 2017.
Story provided by Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
