Kentucky Receives $1.5 Million Federal Grant For Christian County Highway Improvements

Topics:  Interstate Highway System

Federal Highway Administration
23 March 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Contact: Stephanie Roth
(202) 366-0660
FHWA 03-06d

Washington, DC – Kentucky is receiving a $1.5 million federal transportation grant to extend the E.T. Breathitt Parkway to Interstate 24 in Christian County, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said today.

The grant is part of a federal program that supports transportation infrastructure and economic development in the Delta region of the U.S.

"Investing in new road projects will help countless travelers and residents alike better connect to the heart, spirit and soul of the Delta region," said Mineta. "Linking these two vital Kentucky corridors opens the door to rolling more opportunity into the area."

The Department of Transportation is providing more than $24 million in grants to eight states in the Delta region. In addition to Kentucky, states receiving grants are Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

The highway, transit and safety law signed by President Bush in August 2005 provides an additional $40 million for transportation projects in the Delta region. It also provides $1 million to the Delta Regional Authority for a study of transportation needs and priorities in the eight states. The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership established to further economic development in the Delta.