After being vetoed twice by Governor Andy Beshear, House Bill 546 was delivered to the Secretary of State in late March. The effort allocates funds for road repair in Kentucky counties. Each individual project will have a limit of $500,000.
The legislation uses a scale that will rank how badly a road needs rehabilitation based on an evaluation of its current physical condition, cost, traffic volume, and safety. Districts will score the roads based on the cabinet’s scale and the assistance program will grant funds based on priority level.
Myron Lewis, Elliott County’s Judge Executive, said the bill addresses issues that have plagued his district for a long time.
“It’s been years and years since blacktop has been addressed in Elliott County, seriously. And what’s happening now is, you have a lot of Judge Executives who are getting in the ears of their senators and their state representatives, and they’re saying, ‘You need to come out and take a look at these roads,’” said Lewis.
The assistance program aims to bring roads back to their original condition. Funding will not be used for projects that increase capacity or involve improving the design of the road.
Lewis said the legislation is especially important in rural areas like Elliott and Rowan counties.
“It affects local roads more in rural areas than in those that have a lot more tax base. Elliott County has a small tax base. We don’t generate as much revenue, so we’re reliant on state dollars more than we can rely on our own,” said Lewis.
Cities and counties will be able to start submitting projects for consideration on June 1 of each year. A project must be submitted by October 1 to be considered by the General Assembly during its next session. Projects that are not selected can be resubmitted for consideration in a future year.