Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Pike County Judge Executive Requests Governor Beshear To Improve Transportation In Eastern Kentucky
Pikeville, Ky.— Pike County Judge/Executive Wayne T. Rutherford has asked Governor Steve Beshear to support a road project that Judge Rutherford says will boost the economy by creating jobs, and will improve transportation conditions in Eastern Kentucky.
In a letter sent to Gov. Beshear on Monday, December 1, Judge Rutherford advocated both expanding the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway from Salyersville to Prestonsburg and widening both the Mountain Parkway and the Hall Rogers-Daniel Boone Parkway into four-lanes.
In his letter, Judge Rutherford acknowledged that the financial crisis America currently faces would prevent state or national funding for the project, but he advocated financing the project through bonds issued by the Kentucky Turnpike Authority.
“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,” Judge Rutherford said. He added that the road project would “enormously benefit Eastern Kentucky and the Commonwealth overall.”
According to Judge Rutherford, “Many of the four-lane highways in the Commonwealth serve areas which contribute merely a fraction of the revenue contributed by the mineral-rich lands of Eastern Kentucky. He called this situation “unjust and imbalanced,” and called on Gov. Beshear to help create “the same quality highway systems” in Eastern Kentucky as exist throughout the rest of the Commonwealth.”
“Governor, I implore you to build the road project described …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 would rather have a toll road than no four-lane road at all,” Judge Rutherford added.
“Four-laning the Mountain Parkway has been something we’ve been working towards for many years. It would certainly make travel to Central and Eastern Kentucky easier. We have better roads to West Virginia than we do to other parts of Kentucky, and I think that’s a disgrace,” said Senator Ray Jones, II.
“If we have an opportunity to extend the Mountain Parkway, then we should certainly do so,” Senator Jones added.
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In a letter sent to Gov. Beshear on Monday, December 1, Judge Rutherford advocated both expanding the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway from Salyersville to Prestonsburg and widening both the Mountain Parkway and the Hall Rogers-Daniel Boone Parkway into four-lanes.
In his letter, Judge Rutherford acknowledged that the financial crisis America currently faces would prevent state or national funding for the project, but he advocated financing the project through bonds issued by the Kentucky Turnpike Authority.
“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,” Judge Rutherford said. He added that the road project would “enormously benefit Eastern Kentucky and the Commonwealth overall.”
According to Judge Rutherford, “Many of the four-lane highways in the Commonwealth serve areas which contribute merely a fraction of the revenue contributed by the mineral-rich lands of Eastern Kentucky. He called this situation “unjust and imbalanced,” and called on Gov. Beshear to help create “the same quality highway systems” in Eastern Kentucky as exist throughout the rest of the Commonwealth.”
“Governor, I implore you to build the road project described …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 would rather have a toll road than no four-lane road at all,” Judge Rutherford added.
“Four-laning the Mountain Parkway has been something we’ve been working towards for many years. It would certainly make travel to Central and Eastern Kentucky easier. We have better roads to West Virginia than we do to other parts of Kentucky, and I think that’s a disgrace,” said Senator Ray Jones, II.
“If we have an opportunity to extend the Mountain Parkway, then we should certainly do so,” Senator Jones added.
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# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 3:30 PM 
