The Kentucky General Assembly recently passed HB-1, the biennial budget for the commonwealth. In it, Rowan County is promised more than $40 million for transportation projects. Officials said these projects and others in the budget are vital to the safety of drivers across the community.
Harry Clark is the Rowan County Judge Executive. He said the numerous projects, requiring multiple years to engineer and complete, will greatly improve transportation for everyone across the county.
“The two that we’re really in desperate need of and we’ve worked on for so many years is the 377 project, which is widening the Cranston Road and increasing the connectivity there and reducing the congestion,” said Clark. “As well as from Park Hills to Viking Drive. That’s a huge traffic bottleneck, especially during school hours.”
More than $20 million will be used on the bypass, KY 32, between Park Hills and Viking Drive. Legislators allocated nearly $10 million to improve safety on KY 377, beginning south of Clear Fork Road. Guardrails will also be installed on US 60 and KY 3319.
Clark said these infrastructure changes are much needed and he is proud of the community’s working relationship with state officials.
“The legislators, the division of highways, actually took input from the local people. Not just myself, the local leaders, the elected officials, but they also took them from the community. So, these are byproducts of what the community and the local elected officials have seen. This is, you know, what we’ve asked for, and they’re doing that,” said Clark.
The improvements take place in multiple stages, including engineering, property acquisition, utility relocation, and construction. Clark estimated the improvements will span at least the next five years.