On Monday, January 29th, the Engineering & Public Works Roadshow series made its fourth stop, this time in Frankfort, Kentucky, in conjunction with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear celebrating the state’s Mountain Parkway Expansion project. The Roadshow commended the program’s collaborative legislative efforts from federal and state partners to connect Eastern Kentucky residents with the rest of the state.
The roadshow is a partnership between the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Public Works Association (APWA), and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to highlight the meaningful, transformational work of engineers and public works professionals and to encourage students and young professionals to pursue rewarding careers in engineering and public works.
“In Kentucky, we are building a legacy of infrastructure. Life-changing infrastructure that will have positive impacts on Kentucky’s families for generations to come,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “The Mountain Parkway Extension is more than a half century in the making. During so many of those decades people wondered, ‘will it ever get done?’ Collectively, we looked at them, and said ‘watch us.’”
Gov. Andy Beshear joined by Mountain Parkway Expansion project leads.
Beshear mentioned that for the first time since its conception, 100% of the expansion project is either completed, being constructed, or under contract.
ASCE Comments on Mountain Parkway Expansion at Roadshow Event
At today’s press conference, Governor Andy Beshear, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray, FHWA Kentucky Administrator Todd Jeter, state elected officials, and leaders from ACEC, APWA, and ASCE offered comments on the importance of projects like the Mountain Parkway Expansion.
The current Mountain Parkway Expansion fulfills a promise made more than 60 years ago when the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway opened in 1963 as a two- and four-lane roadway. The road was intended as a high-speed route beyond the interstate highway system to enable the flow of commerce and support tourism between rural Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth. While the original Parkway was expected to run past Saylersville eastward to Hazard, that project was never undertaken.
The Mountain Parkway Expansion project is now more than 70 percent completed and is expected to be fully realized in 2027. Once complete, it will close the long-standing transportation gap that exists between the citizens of Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth. It will also provide a safer corridor for travel with four lanes of traffic.
ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey.
“We often refer to major infrastructure projects like this as an investment – meaning that this is not just money being spent, we can expect something in return for this program,” said ASCE president Marsia Geldert-Murphey. “That’s exactly what the Mountain Parkway Extension is, an investment. Kentucky commuters can feel more secure travelling on modernized roads; communities can come together with greater ease now that the parkway connects different regions in the state; and from an economic standpoint, goods and services can move more freely, generating commercial gains for the state.”
The Mountain Parkway Expansion project would be impossible without the cooperation of state and federal elected officials working together to fund such a significant infrastructure project. In his State of the State address earlier this month, Gov. Beshear called for $300 million to speed up the completion of the Mountain Parkway Expansion. The commonwealth is also waiting on federal grant funds through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be used for the project.
As the federal government continues to implement this monumental legislation, the second year of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will not be fully realized without an expanded and robust workforce. Students nationwide must be educated about the rewarding careers of civil engineering and public works so these professions have the necessary staffing to complete transformative projects.
