New 92 on road plan…again

By Greg Bird
birdman@tmcvoice.com

The long-promised and drawn out construction of new Highway 92 between McCreary and Whitley Counties could be completed by the end of 2020 if the current Kentucky highway construction plan is passed by the Governor.
Funding for the completion of the KY 92 road project was included in the two-year road plan passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives Monday. If the bill is signed by Governor Matt Bevin in the next weeks McCreary County could see a total of about $18 million in bridge repairs and road improvement over the next two years.
According to the plan construction for the completion of KY-92 is scheduled for 2019 and 2020 and will cost a total of $15 million. The project will be funded through the federal state transportation program.
The plan calls for the improvement of KY-92 west of KY-592 to the McCreary/Whitley county line. Also included is construction on the Whitley County side, from the county line to Old Jellico Creek Road, at a cost of $10 million, which should complete the improved corridor between the two counties and provide easier access to I-75 for local residents and industry.
The ambitious project officially began in 2005, with the first phase completed in 2009 in Whitley County. A portion of the new road in McCreary County from the intersection of U.S. 27 eastward was opened in 2012.
Four McCreary County bridges in desperate need of work are also included in the road plan.
The bridge over Rock Creek on the Old Fidelity-Bell Farm Road is slated to have its design phase in 2019 and construction in 2020 with a total cost of about $650,000.
The Indian Creek Bridge on KY-700 is also slated for design next year and construction the following year with a total cost of about $1.7 million.
Two bridges over Marsh Creek, one on KY-1044 and one on KY-478, are also scheduled to be repaired over the two-year plan at a combined cost of approximately $1.3 million.
All of the bridge projects are to be funded through the federal bridge replacement fund.
The four bridges were listed as structurally deficient in a recent report compiled by a national transportation research group and released by the Kentucky Highway District 8 office last month.