Kentucky interstate highways and parkways could benefit from the proposed federal infrastructure bill and there’s some hope it could speed along interstate designation for the Pennyrile Parkway.
Governor Andy Beshear recently announced the passing of the federal infrastructure bill will mean the Brent Spence Bridge project won’t require tolls to get across the Ohio River from Kentucky to Cincinnati and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says it designates the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway as an I-65 interstate spur.
Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch appeared for his regular interview on WHOP Friday morning and said local leaders are looking into the possibility that some of those funds could be used to make final upgrades on the Pennyrile Parkway so that the designation as Interstate 169 can be finalized.
One announcement that is finalized is that Charter Senior Living is constructing a facility on Skyline Drive in Hopkinsville and Mayor Lynch says it will create 80 new jobs by the end of next year.
A study estimated the cost of upgrading the 34 miles of existing Pennyrile Parkway to current Interstate standards at about $161 million.