transportation

Highway fatalities in Kentucky increased last year according to preliminary numbers from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) Office of Highway Safety (KOHS). Initial data indicates there were 734 fatalities in 2019, compared to 724 in 2018.

Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said Wednesday at the Kentucky Transportation headquarters they are focused on helping Kentuckians who need a REAL ID obtain one by the Oct. 1 deadline.

Despite Kentucky not currently meeting the federal REAL ID standards, the Beshear administration is committed to implementing the initiative. On Wednesday, Gov. Beshear and Secretary Gray announced a new REAL ID project manager and two more office locations and Secretary Gray demonstrated how to apply for a REAL ID.

Public meetings start next week in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s study of highway needs in the Ashland-Boyd-Greenup urban area of northeast Kentucky.

The first meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 21, 5-7 p.m. at the Flatwoods Senior Center. A second will follow Tuesday, Jan. 28, 5-7 p.m. at Ashland City Hall.

For more than 70 years, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has paved the way for Kentucky’s youth to pursue a rewarding engineering career by offering two scholarship programs to help pay for tuition while providing employment.

KYTC will award up to 30 new scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year to prospective and current college students pursuing civil engineering and engineering technology degrees. Interested students must apply by the Feb. 1, 2020 deadline for scholarship consideration.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's $500,000 project to replace the aging KY 211 bridge over Cow Creek near Salt Lick will begin next week in Bath County.

Work starts Monday, Jan. 6, and will require KY 211 to close at the construction site (milepoint 8.2) for up to 60 days as contractors demolish the old bridge and build a new one in its place. A detour will be marked using US 60 and KY 1269 through Peasticks.

Administrative and pricing changes are ahead for the special license plate program to comply with legislative changes made during the spring General Assembly.

At the end of December, the Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing will begin implementing House Bill 341’s modifications to two statutes governing special license plates – the state’s optional license plates manufactured for 44 approved non-profit organizations.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Jim Gray invites Kentucky students to submit original artwork for the agency’s annual Adopt-a-Highway art contest following the theme, Adopt-a-Highway: Keeping Kentucky Beautiful.

The artwork promotes a litter-free message to residents and winners can prizes.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is making major progress to introduce a modernized license plate manufacturing process in late 2020 after entering into a recent agreement with Intellectual Technologies Inc.

Unlike current license plates embossed with raised letters and numbers, the new plates will be flat and printed digitally, reducing the production costs of bulk manufacturing, storage space, and unused inventory. The background graphics and pricing for standard and special license plates will remain the same.

After three years of construction, the new four-lane segment of the Mountain Parkway Expansion running through Salyersville’s Restaurant Row is now fully open to traffic. Restaurant Row marks the second section of the Parkway to be completed under the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC)’s Mountain Parkway Expansion.

With snow and ice season kicking off Nov. 1, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's (KYTC) nearly 2,000 snowfighters have stocked salt supplies, trained crews and 1,400 plow trucks ready to respond as needed to the state's first snow event of the season expected to hit portions of the state tonight.

Statewide, slick road conditions and low visibility are possible Monday night into Tuesday morning's commute.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has awarded a $250,000 project to repair damaged cables found this summer on the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge (US 62) at Maysville.

The project includes installation of temporary support rods and brackets at 19 locations adjacent to damaged suspender cables – the vertical cables extending from the main suspension cable that support the bridge’s driving surface – as a short-term safety measure and to hopefully return the bridge to a more normal weight limit while longer-term repairs are considered.

While visiting Sandy Hook on Friday, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Department of Rural and Municipal Aid Commissioner Gray Tomblyn II announced $214,965 in discretionary funds has been awarded to the city for resurfacing and state highway improvements.

“This funding builds upon existing transportation investments and allows the Cabinet to collaborate with local governments to identify projects that will have a large impact in communities,” said KYTC Secretary Greg Thomas.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) is joining the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 20-26, to help empower parents to talk with their young drivers about the importance of driving safely.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) is driving home a safety message to motorists aimed at preventing crashes by encouraging two life-saving actions behind the wheel- buckling up and putting down the phone.

Launching today, the state’s first Buckle Up Phone Down campaign features videos, radio spots, digital advertising and a new dedicated website, kyhighwaysafety.com, to promote the initiative.

KY 1812 in northern Breathitt County will be closed beginning Monday, Sept. 23, for a bridge replacement project that is a part of the state’s Bridging Kentucky initiative.

The bridge at milepoint 14.3 crossing Hurst Fork, also known as Johnson Fork, will be closed for 45 days. The new bridge is scheduled to be open by Nov. 7.

The project location is less than 1 mile north of KY 205, and approximately one-half mile south of KY 1419. It is slightly more than two miles south of the Wolfe County line.

In anticipation of Hurricane Dorian and its potential to cause damage to the southeastern United States, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Greg Thomas has waived certain regulations on commercial motor carriers involved in the relief effort.

Secretary Thomas issued the emergency declaration that provides temporary regulatory relief for crews heading to the affected areas to deliver goods, restore utilities and remove debris.

"Lifting these restrictions allows crews to assist with the relief effort as quickly as possible,” Secretary Thomas said.

Repairing the damaged Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge (US 62) in downtown Maysville will require temporary daytime closures of the Ohio River crossing next week so Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews can conduct further engineering analysis.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has posted a 3-ton weight limit on the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge (US 62) over the Ohio River in downtown Maysville.

Recent inspections by Transportation Cabinet contractors found damage to the bridge's cable suspension system, which prompted the change. The bridge had been posted at 20, 23, 25 and 37 tons, depending on axle type.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has awarded $300,000 for resurfacing work on KY 2026 (Maple Street in Stanton). Resurfacing repairs address existing surface cracks, potholes, rutting, crumbling shoulders, and base failures.

Motorists should expect traffic changes on KY 32 west of Morehead as contractors begin resurfacing operations this week on both sides of the I-64 interchange.

By Wednesday night, July 24, paving will begin on KY 32 between the Fairview Drive/Guardian Avenue area and I-64 off ramps. Work will take place at night to lessen impacts on traffic. Motorists should expect lane closures, one-lane traffic and possible flagged traffic for several days.

During Friday’s West Liberty City Council meeting, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Department of Rural and Municipal Aid Commissioner Gray Tomblyn II announced $100,500 in discretionary funds for resurfacing work and patching on portions of eight city streets.

Pavement repairs address existing surface cracks, potholes, raveling, and base failures. The investment supports Gov. Matt Bevin’s commitment to prioritize transportation infrastructure projects and increase economic opportunity across the Commonwealth.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Secretary Greg Thomas has approved the issuance of nearly $1.3 million in grants to improve multimodal freight transportation through the Kentucky Rail Crossing Improvement (KRCI) Program.

Jointly administered by the Division of Planning and Division of Right of Way and Utilities, the Cabinet will fund half of $2.5 million dollars in project costs to maintain and improve at-grade rail crossings in Kentucky.

Drivers using the Mountain Parkway and KY 1010 at Exit 53 in Wolfe County should prepare for a major traffic pattern change, as work continues on a pavement and bridge rehabilitation project between Stillwater and Helechawa (exits 46 and 57).

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (KOHS) is partnering with law enforcement agencies across the state in a speed enforcement blitz June 30 through July 13. 

The federally-funded ‘Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine’ campaign intensifies enforcement of speed violators, with an emphasis on roadways with a high number of speed-related crashes. 

According to KOHS Acting Executive Director, speed limits are established by Kentucky statutes.

Drainage replacements for a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet highway safety improvement project will require KY 32 to close twice next week at two locations along Christy Creek in Rowan County.

KY 32 closed Monday, June 24, and Wednesday, June 26

During the June 18 Rowan County Fiscal Court meeting, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Department of Rural and Municipal Aid Commissioner Gray Tomblyn II announced $457,397 in discretionary funds for vital resurfacing work on more than five miles of roadway.

Resurfacing repairs address existing surface cracks, potholes, raveling, and base failures. The significant investment supports Governor Matt Bevin’s commitment to prioritize transportation infrastructure projects and increase economic opportunity across the Commonwealth.

Two Kentucky Transportation Cabinet highway safety improvement projects on US 60 and KY 32 in Rowan County will require temporary road closures next week.

US 60 closed Tuesday, June 18 @ Lakeside Christian

Beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, June 18, contractors will close US 60 near Lakeside Christian Academy (milepoint 5.4) to trench across the roadway and install a new drainage system underneath it. The road will remain closed to all traffic for at least 12 hours, or until work is complete.

Due to excessive rain, the closure and paving Saturday of two I-64 access ramps at the US 60 interchange (Exit 181) at Coalton in Boyd County has been rescheduled for Monday, June 10.

Beginning about 7 a.m. Monday, contractors will pave the circular ramps – the I-64 westbound off ramp to US 60, and the I-64 eastbound on ramp from US 60. Each access ramp will be closed for several hours for the work, up until about 7 p.m. Electronic message boards will be used to notify traffic of closures. Motorists may use the following detours:

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is seeking public input on proposed Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) goals to ensure certified businesses can compete fairly for federally-funded transportation projects.

The Cabinet’s Office for Civil Rights and Small Business Development (OCRSBD) is developing an annual DBE participation goal, in collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration. Once approved, the goal will be in effect for three years beginning Oct. 1, 2020.