Department of Highways, District 5
Ceremony for Safety Improvements on KY 146

LOUISVILLE, KY.  --(August 26, 2005)—  Governor Ernie Fletcher joined Transportation Cabinet officials and community leaders today to officially break ground on a safety improvement project for KY 146 in Henry County. This project will improve dangerous curves on a section of KY 146 between Interstate 71 and New Castle, Kentucky. 

The governor was joined by seven Henry County High School students.  While in middle school, these students placed first in their division of the International Future Problem Solving Conference.  Their project entitled "Curves and Swerves" researched the accident history of KY 146 and provided solutions for improvement. 

"I want to personally commend the young people who stood up and pushed for these much needed safety improvements," said Governor Ernie Fletcher.  "Projects such as this are an example of our continuing work to provide a safe and reliable transportation system throughout the commonwealth."

Work on the improvement project is scheduled for completion in August of 2006.  The end result will be a much safer commute for drivers.

"It is great to see that all of our hard work is paying off with improvements to the road," said Becky Nix, a junior at Henry County High School.  "We appreciate the support of Governor Fletcher and the local officials by providing the funding necessary to apply our research for the benefit of our community."

Acting Transportation Cabinet Secretary Bill Nighbert told the crowd at today’s ceremony at Safety Kleen Recycling that moving forward on projects like the one on KY 146 helps fulfill the administration's mission of providing a safe and reliable transportation network that leads to new economic opportunity.

"We know improving KY 146 is a priority in the community.  The students and educators who took part in the research project are to be commended," said Secretary Nighbert.  "Through the commitment of elected officials and the Fletcher administration, we are bringing these improvements to reality through the use of federal and state funds."

Each year Kentucky receives approximately $12 million in federal funding through the Hazard Elimination Safety program (HES).  The Transportation Cabinet prioritizes projects to be constructed utilizing 80 percent HES federal funding with 20 percent matching state funds. To qualify for HES funding, a project must meet certain criteria including being located in an area with a high volume of accidents and the project cost cannot exceed $1.5 million. 

Hicon Construction of Bardstown, KY will perform the construction work on a three quarter mile section of KY 146 at a cost of $1.2 million.

The project extends east from the Bartlett Fork Bridge to the entrance of the Safety Kleen Recycling facility. 

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