Thirty-eight miles of the Western Kentucky Parkway from I-69 in Madisonville to I-165 in Beaver Dam will eventually receive interstate status and signage was unveiled Wednesday designating the stretch a ‘Future I-569 Corridor.’
At the request of Governor Andy Beshear’s Beshear administration, the Federal Highway Administration earlier this month approved the placement of signs on the highway in in Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Ohio counties.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray was on hand and says, “In this age of modern logistics and commerce, the importance of proximity to an interstate highway cannot be overstated. These signs send a very clear message to existing and prospective businesses and industries that are deciding where to locate and expand.”
Congress in 2019 granted the Future I-569 designation to the Hopkins-Muhlenberg-Ohio section of the Western Kentucky Parkway, and KYTC launched a study to determine the improvements needed to bring it up to interstate highway standards.
The largest single project would be the reconstruction of the cloverleaf interchange at Central City. The interchange project appears in the 2022 Enacted Highway Plan.