By Lilli Dubler, Building Kentucky
The Mountain Parkway Expansion, a 46-mile transportation improvement project that will create a wider, safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth, continues to progress in Wolfe and Magoffin counties.
“Since last fall, there has been a lot of work that has been accomplished,” said Aric Skaggs, Project Manager for the Mountain Parkway Expansion. “Wolfe County is remarkable, a lot of earth has been moved. Magoffin County West is very similar. Both are on excellent tracks to be completed on time.”
Pre-construction efforts are also moving forward for the new, preferred route for the Magoffin-Floyd segment of the expansion. In February, a public meeting was held to present the preferred option to the community.
“We received a lot of great feedback from that, a lot of good comments, and we take those into consideration,” Skaggs said. “We continue working on the project and we’re trying to make that a reality as quick as we can.”
Roughly 70% of the parkway is currently either under construction or has been completed.
“It takes time to make a project as immense as this happen,” Skaggs said. “We are progressing forward are we are making great strides.”
The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a key transportation project that is designed to close the only gap in a 400-mile, four-lane, high-speed corridor for commerce and mobility across Kentucky from Pikeville to Paducah. The project will widen 30 miles of the existing parkway to four lanes and extend the parkway by about 13 miles between Salyersville and Prestonsburg.
Nearly 100 citizens attend public meeting in Fredonia to view Connect 641 maps and submit comments to project team