SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (May 11, 2016) – Pre-construction activities began last week along a 2.4-mile stretch of roadway in Salyersville to allow an eventual 46-miles extension of a wider, safer Mountain Parkway to Pikeville. Contractors began demolition of a handful of structures that were purchased by the state and needed to be removed to make way for the first extension of the Mountain Parkway in a half century.
Pre-construction work will be ongoing through June.
The so-called Restaurant Row project will improve safety and mobility through the busiest and most visible stretch of roadway along the Mountain Parkway corridor, which currently ends just west of Salyersville. The Restaurant Row area begins just east of Exit 75 of the current Mountain Parkway to just east of the KY 114/U.S. 460 intersection (Rock House Road).
The Restaurant Row project includes improving and expanding a system of local access roads along what will become the Mountain Parkway.
The project is funded in part by a $24 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal funding was awarded to speed construction of this crucial segment of the parkway expansion and support economic development in Eastern Kentucky.
Magoffin County
Clearing activities are continuing along a nearly 6-mile stretch of the Mountain Parkway to the west of Salyersville.
The Magoffin County Central Segment of the Mountain Parkway Expansion runs from just west of mile point 70 to just east of mile point 75 of the parkway.
The speed limit in the area has been reduced, and traffic on the parkway may be slowed or stopped periodically for the safety of workers and travelers.
Salyersville interchange
Recent storms slowed work on the KY 7 interchange. Construction crews had been driving piling for a new bridge over a creek for the modernized Salyersville interchange. After piles are set, the concrete pour will begin.
Blasting and excavation work will continue, and traffic may be stopped occasionally for up to 5 minutes at a time as a safety precaution during blasting. Excavation work is scheduled to be completed by next spring.
KY 30 interchange
Clearing and site work continues around the current KY 30 interchange near mile point 72. The project includes modernizing and improving the KY 30 interchange as well as realigning and widening about 2½ miles of roadway.
Traffic on KY 30 has been shifted from a temporary gravel lane back to pavement, and travel might be stopped 4-5 times daily for up to 15 minutes at a time because of blasting.
A temporary traffic signal remains near the interchange to allow construction trucks to safely cross the parkway to transport excavated materials to waste areas.
Gifford Road interchange
Crews will begin pouring concrete this week on the bridge that will carry westbound traffic on the Mountain Parkway over the Middle Fork of the Licking River. Traffic is not expected to be affected.
The new bridge runs parallel to a bridge that was completed last year and now carries both lanes of the Mountain Parkway.
The new interchange will provide access to and from the Mountain Parkway and serve an industrial park planned just to the north of the parkway.
Crews recently completed construction of a culvert under the old Mountain Parkway near the Gifford Road interchange and are preparing to backfill the area where westbound lanes will be added. They also are working on the storm sewer in the median for the westbound side.
The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a 46-mile transportation improvement project that will create a wider, safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the commonwealth. The project will widen 30 miles of the existing parkway from two lanes to four lanes, and will extend the parkway another 16 miles between Salyersville and Prestonsburg.
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