Kentucky will spend $8.5 billion on road, bridge and other infrastructure projects from 2018 to 2024.
The 2018 Highway Plan will see $4.6 billion spent on projects that focus on mobility and safety, $2.3 billion on bridge and pavement upgrades, $1 billion on projects with a federal connection and $600 million will go toward GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) debt repayments.
Kentucky’s 2018 Highway Plan will prioritize spending on more than 1,000 bridge repairs and 5,000 miles of pavement improvements during the next six years.
More than half of the current 9,700-lane-mile backlog of poor pavement needs will be improved over the next six years. KYTC’s Preventive Maintenance Program and the plan’s unprecedented level of funding dedicated to asset management will allow KYTC to reduce a growing backlog of poor pavement miles, and road condition improvements are expected to make commutes safer and protect vehicles throughout the Commonwealth.
Adding to the Cabinet’s $265 million asset management budget outside the plan, the Highway Plan allocates $904 million in funding to improve bridges and deteriorating roadways in the FY 2018-2020 biennium for a combined investment of more than $1 billion for existing roads and bridges.
The 2018 Highway Plan invests funding to paint the existing Brent Spence Bridge in 2019, and in western Kentucky, right-of-way and utility funds are dedicated for the I-69 Ohio River Crossing connecting Henderson, Kentucky, and Evansville, Indiana. The Cabinet will continue plans to study an eastern bypass concept focused on economic development from I-71 in Gallatin County to the AA Highway in Campbell County.
The Highway Plan reflects the prioritization of the most needed projects through the use of the Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) process. More than 18 months of work went into designing the SHIFT formula and evaluating more than 1,100 projects.
The SHIFT process used quantitative measures such as crash rates, congestion, economic growth and cost-benefit ratios to rank 1,100 projects. The process also incorporated input and priority setting by local transportation leaders across the Commonwealth.
The KYTC project team is already moving ahead to begin the 18-month SHIFT prioritization process to develop the 2020 Recommended Highway Plan. Local input from transportation leaders will continue to remain a core component of the process while project weights and scores may be refined based on the best available industry data measures. The next plan will be presented to the General Assembly in January 2020.
