Work Continues on HWY 92

Photo by Voice Staff Work continues on the construction of HWY 92 from Pine Knot to Williamsburg. Once completed, HWY 92 will be blacktopped from beginning to end, including the McCreary County side of the project. The anticipated completion date for construction and paving is late fall 2021 or early spring 2022. Paving of highways is not done from mid November until mid April because of weather conditions and could cause a slight delay in completion of paving.

By Eugenia Jones
eugenia@highland.net

Despite ongoing rumors to the contrary, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Region 8 Public Information Officer Amber Hale wants to reassure McCreary Countians that the KY HWY 92 project from Pine Knot to Williamsburg will be completed with blacktop on the McCreary County portion of the highway construction.
There have been consistent rumors the project would not be completed, and the McCreary County side would not be blacktopped. Hale said reports of the recent seeding of part of the roadway on the McCreary County portion of the construction is true; however, the seeding is part of the erosion control and environmental process included in the original contract due to the environmental impact to Marsh Creek.
“The seeding is just part of the process,” Hale said.
According to Hale, nearly all projects and contracts have been extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic and some change orders approved for the project, Hale is hopeful construction of the new HWY 92 will still be completed by late fall of 2021. Currently, work is progressing on the bid process for paving the McCreary County side, and officials are optimistic the contract for the McCreary portion and one mile of the Whitley County portion will be let out for bid this fall.
Hale did acknowledge there is a possibility the construction work on the McCreary County side will be finished this fall, but blacktopping may have to wait until early in the spring of 2022.
“Paving shuts down in November because of weather,” Hale noted. “It doesn’t start back again until April. So there is a possibility the paving for the McCreary County section and a section of Whitley County will be completed in early spring.”
As of now, the project is basically on schedule.
“A lot of the work being done now on the McCreary County side is work that can’t be easily seen by the public” Hale noted.