Commonwealth Journal

Local News

April 17, 2010

New Ky. 1247 to be open soon

Somerset — A few years back it would have been an impossible dream to drive through the pastoral and almost remote communities of Elihu and Cabin Hollow on a four-lane highway.

The fantasy is about to be reality. Stephanie Daffron, public information officer for Kentucky Department of Highways’ District 8, said engineers are planning to open the two southbound lanes of new Ky. 1247 by Memorial Day weekend. The northbound lanes, currently accommodating two-way traffic, opened last fall.

Daffron said work on the median is ongoing and application of the final blacktop surface on southbound lanes will begin shortly. The road base and initial blacktop are in place.

New Ky. 1247 replaces a narrow, crooked, two-lane road that dips sharply to Pitman Creek south of Elihu; climbs upward through Cedar Grove; then meanders past John Sherman Cooper Power Station to U.S. 27. Old Ky. 1247 will remain for local travel.

The new highway is a scenic route. A bridge, 521 feet long, takes motorists 85 feet above picturesque Pitman Creek. The view in all directions is peaceful countryside, framed by rolling foothills of the Cumberland Mountains.

Hinkle Contracting Corporation of Somerset and Paris, constructed the little more than three miles of new road for $22,597,148. It extends from the southeastern bypass across from Murphy Avenue Extension to Bend of the Lake Road just east of the intersection with U.S. 27. At this point it joins the partial cloverleaf interchange with U.S. 27 and Ky. 90 in northern Burnside.

The route of new Ky. 1247 is the original recommendation for the southeastern bypass (Ky. 914). However, the southeastern bypass took a political curve and ended up feeding onto U.S. 27, the busy road it was intended to bypass.

Text Only
Local News
News Live
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Facebook
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Stocks