The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will host a public hearing on Thursday, October 10, to present the preliminary preferred alternative for reconstructing KY 32 in Elliott and Rowan counties and to seek comments.
The hearing, which will take place 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Adkins-Caudill Performing Arts Center at Elliott County High School in Sandy Hook, is one of the final steps in a plan to rebuild a narrow, winding section of KY 32 between Newfoundland and Elliottville that doesn’t meet current roadway design standards.
Interested persons may drop in any time during the two-hour hearing to become better informed and to express their views concerning the proposed project. A handout containing project information will be provided. Project plans and exhibits – including the project’s Environmental Assessment (EA) that was approved by the Federal Highway Administration and the Transportation Cabinet this summer – will be available. And, representatives from the Transportation Cabinet and their consultants will be available to answer questions.
Oral and written statements concerning the project will be accepted during the hearing, and comments may be submitted in writing for a period of 15 days afterward to Kentucky Department of Highways District 9, P.O. Box 347, Flemingsburg, KY 41041. For more information, or to request assistance due to a disability, please call the district office at (800) 817-2551.
The KY 32 reconstruction project began six years ago with a planning study that sought ways to improve the state route from Elliottville in Rowan County to its junction with KY 7 at Newfoundland in Elliott County.
Since then, transportation engineers and consultants have been analyzing roadway, historical and environmental data and meeting with local officials, stakeholders and the general public. Six design alternatives – ranging from spot improvements along the existing highway to new roadways to the north or south – have been under consideration.
In November 2012, the project team narrowed its design choice based on project needs and public input to a preliminary preferred alternative – specifically, Alternative 3 as presented at past meetings that calls for a new 12-mile route north of existing KY 32 and features straighter, wider travel lanes capable of increasing traffic safety and improving travel times. Alternative 3 is the alternative now being advanced to the public hearing.
For more information, or to download maps and read documents about the KY 32 reconstruction project, please visit the project web site at http://transportation.ky.gov/District-9/Pages/KY-32-Project.aspx. Or, visit Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 online at http://transportation.ky.gov/district-9 and select the project from the Featured Projects list.
