Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Content Of Letter By Pike County Judge Executive To Kentucky Governor About Improving Roads
Sent via U.S. Mail and Facsimile
December 1, 2008
The Honorable Steve Beshear
Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
The Capital
700 Capital Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
Re: A Proposition for lengthening the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway and expanding the Mountain Parkway and the Hal Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway into four lanes
Dear Gov. Beshear:
That America faces a financial crisis today goes without saying. And, that being the case, Kentucky must look beyond the traditional ways it finances projects. In these uncertain economic times, Kentucky’s leaders must be innovative in their approach to financing vitally needed public improvements. To this end, I am proposing a road project which can be financed through such innovative thinking.
Our nation’s economy must be stabilized from the bottom up, and the first step toward creating economic stability logically appears to be by creating jobs. Road construction projects are an excellent way to create jobs; and one road project, if approved, would enormously benefit Eastern Kentucky and the Commonwealth overall. Here is my proposition: expand the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway from Salyersville to Prestonsburg, and widen both the Mountain Parkway and the Hall Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway into four lanes. Increasing the safety of these roads is of prime concern. The Hal Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway and the Mountain Parkway are among Kentucky’s most dangerous highways.
I realize that both the Commonwealth and the federal government lack conventional, adequate funding to undertake a project of this magnitude at this time. This is why I propose to pay for the project through selling turnpike authority bonds and establishing the roads as a toll road system in order to retire such bonds.
If I left the Pike County Courthouse today and drove to Charleston, the capitol of West Virginia, I would drive over a four-lane highway the entire distance. Conversely, if I left today to travel to Frankfort, the capitol of our great Commonwealth, I would be driving primarily over a two-lane road.
Many of the four-lane highways in the Commonwealth serve areas which contribute merely a fraction of the revenue compared to that contributed by the mineral-rich lands of Eastern Kentucky. This situation is unjust and imbalanced, especially considering that Eastern Kentucky is America’s Energy Capital. Sadly, however, the situation is typical, considering that the people and the natural resources of Eastern Kentucky have, for years, been exploited for the benefit of other parts of Kentucky and the United States.
In the past, some of Kentucky’s elected leaders have failed to provide dynamic vision and leadership for the people of Eastern Kentucky. We’re a good, hardworking people. We deserve the same quality highway systems as the rest of the Commonwealth, perhaps more so, given the region’s economic contributions to the state. Governor, I implore you to build the road project described therein through the selling of turnpike authority bonds to be retired by the tolls generated. By doing so, you would contribute to the economy of the Commonwealth by providing hundreds of jobs in the forgotten areas of Kentucky, and you would do more to improve the quality of life for Eastern Kentuckians than any other governor who has come before you. Most residents of Eastern Kentucky would rather have a toll road than no four lane road at all.
Thank you and your administration for your understanding and consideration of this request, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Wayne T. Rutherford
Pike County Judge/Executive
CC: Kentucky Transportation Secretary Joseph W. Prather
December 1, 2008
The Honorable Steve Beshear
Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
The Capital
700 Capital Avenue, Suite 100
Frankfort, KY 40601
Re: A Proposition for lengthening the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway and expanding the Mountain Parkway and the Hal Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway into four lanes
Dear Gov. Beshear:
That America faces a financial crisis today goes without saying. And, that being the case, Kentucky must look beyond the traditional ways it finances projects. In these uncertain economic times, Kentucky’s leaders must be innovative in their approach to financing vitally needed public improvements. To this end, I am proposing a road project which can be financed through such innovative thinking.
Our nation’s economy must be stabilized from the bottom up, and the first step toward creating economic stability logically appears to be by creating jobs. Road construction projects are an excellent way to create jobs; and one road project, if approved, would enormously benefit Eastern Kentucky and the Commonwealth overall. Here is my proposition: expand the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway from Salyersville to Prestonsburg, and widen both the Mountain Parkway and the Hall Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway into four lanes. Increasing the safety of these roads is of prime concern. The Hal Rogers/Daniel Boone Parkway and the Mountain Parkway are among Kentucky’s most dangerous highways.
I realize that both the Commonwealth and the federal government lack conventional, adequate funding to undertake a project of this magnitude at this time. This is why I propose to pay for the project through selling turnpike authority bonds and establishing the roads as a toll road system in order to retire such bonds.
If I left the Pike County Courthouse today and drove to Charleston, the capitol of West Virginia, I would drive over a four-lane highway the entire distance. Conversely, if I left today to travel to Frankfort, the capitol of our great Commonwealth, I would be driving primarily over a two-lane road.
Many of the four-lane highways in the Commonwealth serve areas which contribute merely a fraction of the revenue compared to that contributed by the mineral-rich lands of Eastern Kentucky. This situation is unjust and imbalanced, especially considering that Eastern Kentucky is America’s Energy Capital. Sadly, however, the situation is typical, considering that the people and the natural resources of Eastern Kentucky have, for years, been exploited for the benefit of other parts of Kentucky and the United States.
In the past, some of Kentucky’s elected leaders have failed to provide dynamic vision and leadership for the people of Eastern Kentucky. We’re a good, hardworking people. We deserve the same quality highway systems as the rest of the Commonwealth, perhaps more so, given the region’s economic contributions to the state. Governor, I implore you to build the road project described therein through the selling of turnpike authority bonds to be retired by the tolls generated. By doing so, you would contribute to the economy of the Commonwealth by providing hundreds of jobs in the forgotten areas of Kentucky, and you would do more to improve the quality of life for Eastern Kentuckians than any other governor who has come before you. Most residents of Eastern Kentucky would rather have a toll road than no four lane road at all.
Thank you and your administration for your understanding and consideration of this request, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this subject at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Wayne T. Rutherford
Pike County Judge/Executive
CC: Kentucky Transportation Secretary Joseph W. Prather
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 6:48 PM 
