Home » State awards $26.5 million to rebuild KY 7 in Elliott County

State awards $26.5 million to rebuild KY 7 in Elliott County

FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 19, 2013) – A contract to complete the fourth phase of a 15-year, multi-million dollar reconstruction of KY 7 in Elliott County has been awarded by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Work is expected to begin in July and will involve rebuilding and widening about five miles of KY 7 (Sandy Hook-Grayson Road) from just north of KY 706 to the Carter County line.

The $26.54 million project will complete a series of major improvements along the KY 7 corridor north of Sandy Hook. The result will be a safer roadway, new bridges and easier access through Elliott County. The overall project has been in construction for 15 years, and the combined investment will total more than $60 million.

“This is an important project, not only for Elliott County, but the surrounding region,” said state Rep. Rocky Adkins, of Sandy Hook. “The completion of KY 7 will improve safety for the traveling public and will enhance economic opportunities for our communities. This project has been one of my top priorities throughout my 26 years of legislative service.”

Improvements along KY 7 in Elliott County began in 1997 with a project that focused on a section from KY 557 at Sandy Hook north to the KY 32 intersection near Newfoundland. Work included a new, major bridge crossing of the Little Sandy River at Laurel Gorge, which bypassed a narrow and curvy section of highway.

By 2004, work was under way to reconstruct KY 7 through Newfoundland to near KY 885, which included another new bridge crossing the Little Sandy River. This section of highway improved access to residents, schools and the newly constructed Little Sandy Correctional Complex.

The third phase, which finished in 2010, focused on the realignment of 1.49 miles of KY 7 from the KY 32 intersection downtown to near KY 557 with wider and straighter through lanes and additional turn lanes to increase vehicle capacity and safety.

This next phase of improvements that starts in July – along five miles of the highway north of KY 706 – will complete the rebuilding of KY 7 between the Carter County line and downtown Sandy Hook, turning a once twisting and congested roadway into a wider and more direct thoroughfare.

Greer Mining Inc., of London, won the contract for the work with its low bid of $26,546,077. The contract specifies 530 working days, giving contractors about three years to complete the project.