Contractors continue to push ahead with construction on Restaurant Row, the busiest segment of the Mountain Parkway Expansion.
“Now that spring and summer are approaching, work on Restaurant Row will kick into high gear,” said Marshall Carrier, a KYTC engineer who is the project manager for the Mountain Parkway Expansion. “We urge travelers to use caution and be patient as we bring them a safer Mountain Parkway.”
Crews have made significant progress on utility relocation, a couple of culverts and the bridge over Burning Fork on the west end of the nearly 2 ½- mile segment.
More beams on the Burning Fork Bridge are slated to be set at the end of the week. Parkway traffic will be moved later this spring onto the new bridge, allowing demolition of the old structure.
Grade work and clearing has begun behind the Magoffin County Health Department, with blasting scheduled to begin in April. Little to no traffic impacts are expected.
Construction also continues in segments to the west of Restaurant Row.
Magoffin Central segment: The contractor is preparing to pour more concrete for the bridge at the KY 30 interchange and fencing has been placed at the KY 7 interchange. Next month, crews expect to begin moving dirt and rock to prepare for paving.
Morgan County segment: Clearing work continues on this segment, which also includes portions of Magoffin and Wolfe counties. Blasting and material hauling will begin near the Magoffin-Morgan county line and in Wolfe County, just west of the KY 205 intersection.
Travelers should expect periodic delays of 10-15 minutes for the safety of workers and the traveling public. In addition, crews will start working on a culvert between mile points 58 and 59, but traffic is not expected to be affected.
Drivers should note that speed limits in the work zones have been reduced.
The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a 46-mile transportation improvement project that will create a wider, safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth. It is a key transportation project designed to close the only gap in a 400-mile, four-lane, high-speed corridor for commerce and mobility across Kentucky from Pikeville to Paducah.
The project will widen 30 miles of the existing parkway to four lanes and extend the parkway by about 16 miles between Salyersville and Prestonsburg.
(story provided by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet)
