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U.S. 460 project earns regional honor at transportation group’s annual conference
CINCINNATI, Ohio — The new U.S. 460 corridor through Eastern Kentucky has received regional recognition for its impact on safety, quality of life and economic development.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials accepted the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials Regional Award Wednesday in Cincinnati.
The project could now be selected as one of 12 national finalists competing for a Grand Prize and People’s Choice Award.
The nearly 17-mile, four-lane corridor opened last October, connecting Pikeville to the Virginia state line. It replaces narrow, winding sections of roadway with wider lanes and provides a route that is about 10 miles shorter.
The project also includes Kentucky’s tallest twin-span bridges and is designed to improve access for residents, businesses and emergency services throughout Eastern Kentucky.
Planning for the corridor began in 1990, with the first eight miles opening in 2014. The full project cost nearly $800 million.
This is the second national recognition for the U.S. 460 project. Earlier this year, it received a National Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies.
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More than $30 million in federal, state funding announced for infrastructure projects
HAZARD, Ky. — More than $33 million in federal and state funding is headed to Eastern Kentucky for water, wastewater and other infrastructure projects in communities across the region.
Congressman Hal Rogers joined state and local officials Wednesday at Hazard Community and Technical College to announce more than $30 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects in nine southeastern Kentucky counties.
Rogers secured federal funding for four projects through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 531 Infrastructure Program, a funding source he established in 1996 specifically to improve water and wastewater infrastructure in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District.
“This funding is the first step to job creation, economic development, flood recovery and even educational opportunities,” Rogers said. “Clean water and wastewater systems are the cornerstones that we build from in our communities.”
He said infrastructure projects can be particularly expensive in Eastern Kentucky and that the funding will help rural communities continue recovering from the July 2022 floods.
“Infrastructure in the mountains comes with a hefty price tag, and this funding will help relieve the burden from our rural counties as they continue to revitalize and rebuild after the 2022 flood,” Rogers said.
Five additional projects received funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program and the Appalachian Regional Commission.
USDA Rural Development State Director Travis Burton said water infrastructure remains a priority for rural Kentucky.
“Water infrastructure is so important to rural Kentuckians, and it’s a priority for this administration,” Burton said. “Today’s announcements mark the latest investments we’ve made to help Eastern Kentucky rebuild after the horrific flooding of 2022.”
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and state Sen. Scott Madon also announced state funding for three Letcher County projects. State Sen. Brandon Smith and state Reps. Chris Fugate, Richard White and Mitch Whitaker also supported the funding.
Stivers said the projects demonstrate the importance of cooperation among federal, state and local governments.
“We have been able to match federal money with state funds for some of these projects to ensure they make it over the finish line,” Stivers said.
Madon called the funding “a game changer for southeastern Kentucky,” saying the projects will support job creation, tourism and economic development.
The federal funding totals more than $30.5 million, while the state funding announced Wednesday adds another $2.9 million.
Individual projects
- Morehead State University — $1 million: Sewer and Water Rehabilitation Project, Phase I. The project will repair the university’s water and sewer system, serving about 8,000 students and 800 faculty and staff on and off campus.
- Elliott County Fiscal Court — $3 million: Construction of a 2.5-million-gallon water tower for the Little Sandy Correctional Facility.
- Elkhorn City — $900,000: Stillhouse Water Storage Tank in Pike County. The project will provide a new, higher-capacity water tank serving approximately 500 homes and 35 businesses.
- City of Jenkins — $2 million: Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion. The project will increase capacity for 115 new homes and up to eight new businesses while improving service for more than 600 homes and nearly 60 businesses already on the system.
- City of Fleming-Neon — $5.4 million: Replacement of nearly 37,000 linear feet of waterlines and fixtures.
- City of Jackson — $10.9 million: Replacement of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which was damaged in the July 2022 flood.
- Knott County Water and Sewer District — $4.6 million: Replacement of the wastewater treatment plant and sewer lines damaged in the 2022 flood.
- City of Hazard — $1.5 million: Replacement of 20 miles of waterlines between Buckhorn and Chavies and construction of a 250,000-gallon storage tank.
- City of Beattyville — $1.275 million: Renovation of three existing water storage tanks throughout the city’s distribution system.
- City of Jenkins — $1 million in state funding: Local match for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 531 project.
- Letcher County Fiscal Court — $1.5 million in state funding: Waterline extensions to Thunder Mountain.
- Southeast Road Resurfacing Project — $438,000 in state funding: Road resurfacing work in Letcher County.
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