Several residents of Lewis County attended an open house Tuesday (July 7) to learn more about plans to improve travel between Vanceburg and Morehead.
During the open house at the Lewis County High School gymnasium, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesperson Allen Blair said plans are in the very early stages of development and KTC has only collected data and information from those who travel the roadways to see what the consensus would be before any plans are put into place.
"We're looking at what we can do to improve safety," he said. "We have data from police reports that show the amount of accidents that occur on these roads, but we also know there are a lot that never get reported. We want to hear from everyone about their experiences and if they've had an accident that hasn't been reported."
During the open house, guests were invited to talk with officials and look at information on Kentucky 59, Kentucky 377 and Kentucky 344. They were also asked to provide information on crashes and spots on the roadways that are particularly dangerous.
"This was an information gathering only," Blair said. "No one saw actual plans for the roadways. What we were doing was getting the information and we'll go back and draft plans, which could range from widening to a new road to spot improvements or we could do nothing, which is always an option. These meetings help us prioritize highway improvements, where we might do a first phase of a project in the future."
Leslie Collier, who is a minister at a church with her husband, Ben Collier, on Kentucky 59 said she was happy to see KTC taking interest in the roadways.
"The church is what brought us here," she said. "It's in a bad area on (Kentucky) 59. This a good thing. It will all take some time and explanation before people really get it, but I think once people understand it, they'll be more open."
"Our church is on a bad curve," Ben Collier added. "It's dangerous coming out of the parking lot. I think this will be a good thing for it and for everyone who travels the roadways."
State Rep. Rocky Adkins is leading the charge behind improvements, according to Lewis County Judge-Executive Todd Ruckel.
Adkins said he came up with the idea after asking Ruckel what roadways that needed improvement.
"It was just before we went into session in January 2014. We wrote a new plan for the money that would be spent over the next two years. I asked Flemingsburg district engineers to do an estimate of how much it would cost to do a corridor plan on Kentucky 344, Kentucky 377 and Kentucky 59. Found out it would cost about $1 million. Basically, what is happening at the open house is the money put in the budget is being used to conduct a study to see if the corridor plan would be feasible,” said Adkins.
Adkins said he hopes to be able to put money into the budget later to begin purchasing rights of ways and eventually have a construction budget.
"The next session, which will start in January, we will write a new plan. I am hopeful that in that plan we can put together money to build the road in the future, starting with the money to buy right of ways, and of course we'll have public meetings, and eventually have the money to begin construction,” added Adkins.
Ruckel said he was pleased to see the possibility of something being done on the roadways.
"When (Adkins) came into my office, he asked about the most important transportation issues in Lewis County," he said. "We talked about travel between Vanceburg and Morehead. He got on the phone and called District 9 and discussed some things that could be done to improve the travel."
Ruckel said improvements to travel between Vanceburg and Morehead should have already been considered.
"This is something they should have done a long time ago. It's not only going to improve the safety of that road with our citizens going to Morehead and our students going to the university," he said. "What we're also hoping is that it will open up that roadway from Morehead to Vanceburg. We're hoping that people from Morehead will come here -- to draw industry to Vanceburg."
Vanceburg Mayor Matt Ginn agreed with Ruckel and said he was glad to see steps being taken on the project.
"I'm excited," he said. "This will be a great thing for Vanceburg. It will make it easier for college kids and others traveling to Morehead. And, it will be a great advantage for Vanceburg."
Blair said anyone who was not at the meeting, but would like to know more about the project or provide information can take an online survey at: http://transportation.ky.gov/YourTurn
Another identical meeting will be held in Morehead at a later date.
The Ledger Independent is online at: http://www.maysville-online.com