Two-long anticipated highway developments are coming to western Kentucky.
Governor Steve Beshear joined local leaders Wednesday at the Murray-Calloway County Airport to announce the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will soon accept bids to complete the widening of US 68/KY 80 from Cadiz to Lake Barkley.
The speed limit on the existing four-lane stretch of 68/80 will also increase from 55 to 65 miles per hour.
Beshear says this will retain tourism dollars in western Kentucky.
"You know, travelers and businesses increasingly rely on global positioning system technology to plan their trips, and those systems favor routes with higher speed limits," said Beshear. "Kentucky 80 is a well-built highway and a 65 mph speed limit will allow it to stand out on the GPS systems. And now that the remaining pieces of the corridor are falling into place, the time is right.
"We will have a four-lane highway all the way from Bowling Green to Mayfield and virtually every part of it will be 65 miles an hour. Now think about that, and what it will do for the economy of west Kentucky.”
The two routes – U.S. 68 and KY 80 – merge at Aurora, in Marshall County, and run as a combined route from that point eastward to Bowling Green. Going west from Aurora, the highway splits into two routes: U.S. 68 runs northwesterly to Paducah, while KY 80 dips to the south. KY 80 is four lanes wide from Aurora to Mayfield.
The project is expected to cost $42.5M.
Legislators from the region praised the incoming developments.
“This project will have tremendous benefit for not only the people who live in West Kentucky but the millions of tourists who visit annually, particularly with Land Between The Lakes being the No. 1 tourist attraction in the Commonwealth,” said Rep. Kenny Imes, of Murray. “Infrastructure improvements of this nature make our region a more attractive place in which to live, work and visit.”
“The widening of U.S. 68 and KY 80 will be huge for the Western part of our state,” said. Sen. Stan Humphries, of Cadiz. “Developing easier access to this area means more business, more jobs, more tourism and an overall better economic environment for our citizens.”
KY 80 runs through Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area via a pair of bridges over Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, which are set to be replaced by October 2017.
The KYTC will begin bid letting for the three widening projects on November 20th.
