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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Ky. sticking with interstate no other state wants

Kentucky's new Democratic governor is supporting the plan of his predecessors and a powerful Republican congressman to build an interstate highway that no other state wants to build. "Despite growing opposition from citizens' groups to the proposed Interstate 66, and evidence that the highway isn't needed or justified economically, the administration of Gov. Steve Beshear has pledged its support for the multibillion-dollar project," R.G. Dunlop reports in The Courier-Journal today.

Transportation Cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe told Dunlop the cabinet "has no plan to revisit the economic justifications for I-66," as requested by opponents, who note that the feasibility study for the road is more than 10 years old. The chairman of the state House budget committee, Democrat Harry Moberly, "said he thinks taking a fresh look at the project's purpose and need would be sound public policy," Dunlop writes.

The matter could come to a head this winter, when the legislature will likely be asked to change a state law allowing an I-66 bridge between London and Somerset to cross a state wild river, the Rockcastle. Opponents of the project say the law should not be changed, at least until the state completes an environmental impact statement for that section of the road. The statement "was supposed to be issued last spring, but Wolfe said there is now no estimated date for finishing it. The Federal Highway Administration told the cabinet in May that the impact statement must be completed by next June to 'avoid re-evaluation' by the federal agency."

The road's chief promoter is U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers of Somerset, whose economically depressed 5th District would see much of the construction. Asked for his view, he told the Louisville newspaper: "My commitment to Interstate 66 is unwavering, and I will continue to work with state and local leaders to provide the necessary resources for its continued development." (Read more) For the paper's earlier package of I-66 stories, click here.

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