National, State Officials Break Ground on KY 841/US 42 Ramp Relocation
Realignment first physical sign of progress on Ohio River Bridges Project
Prospect, KY – Federal, state and local officials today commemorated the
first physical activity associated with the Ohio River Bridges Project at a groundbreaking
ceremony kicking off work on the US 42/KY 841 ramp relocation.
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, U.S. Rep. Anne Northup (R-KY), U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel
(R-IN), Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson
and officials from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Indiana Department of
Transportation gathered for a brief program at the Harrods Creek Fire Department
in Prospect. The official groundbreaking took place at the US 42/KY 841 split directly
after the event.
The officials who participated in today’s groundbreaking are some of the Ohio River
Bridges Project’s most important supporters at the federal, state and local levels.
They joined with members of the Bridges Project team to celebrate the first physical
sign that the fifth-largest transportation project in the nation is on schedule
and making progress.
The KY 841 off-ramp from the Gene Snyder Freeway will be moved west of its current
location, where it will run parallel to the Snyder on-ramp from US 42. The work
is preliminary to the boring of an exploratory tunnel alongside the current KY 841
off-ramp and extending below US 42. The tunnel bore will provide design engineers
with valuable geotechnical information as they plan for a six-lane, 2,000-foot tunnel
beginning at the KY 841/US 42 intersection.
Realigning the KY 841 off-ramp is expected to improve traffic and safety in the
area, and the addition of two new left-turn lanes on US 42 will improve traffic
flow onto the Snyder on-ramp. A new traffic light will be synchronized with the
light at Wolf Pen Branch Road.
Work at the 841/42 location is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2006. Early
next year, crews will begin work on the exploratory tunnel, which will not open
out on the north side of US 42. The current KY 841 off-ramp will be used as an access
road for equipment and heavy machinery.