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Hinkle acquired by Washington firm
A Washington DC-based firm has acquired Hinkle Contracting Corporation, a Paris (Ky.)-based company with a Somerset Division that for many years has been a major road-building contractor in Pulaski County.
Summit Materials recently revealed it has purchased Hinkle, an aggregate, asphalt, paving, concrete block and construction company founded by the Hinkle family in 1942. Hinkle, a name synonymous with road building in Kentucky, is a major player in nearly $200 million worth of highway construction in Pulaski County during the past five years.
Among some of Hinkle’s recent highway projects are constructing three sections of four-lane U.S. 27 from Science Hill to Eubank; the southwestern bypass from U.S. 27 through the Oak Hill community to Cumberland Parkway; the northern bypass (I-66) from Cumberland Parkway to the I-66 interchange at U.S. 27; and four-lane Ky. 1247 from southeastern bypass to the U.S. 27-Ky. 90 intersection in northern Burnside. Hinkle in 2003 paved the newly expanded runway at Lake Cumberland Regional Airport.
Hinkle operates 12 aggregate and 17 asphalt facilities and has over 250 million tons of limestone reserves. Hinkle’s Somerset Division, with offices on Monticello Street, was established in 1968. The company operates at four different locations in Pulaski County.
Roots of Hinkle Contracting go back to 1934 in the Paris area when Buckner Hinkle started managing his mother’s 167-acre farm. Along the way, he realized money could be made building ponds and purchased his first bulldozer.
Buckner Hinkle foun-ded Hinkle Contracting Corporation, initially named Buckner Hinkle and Company, in 1942. During World War II, the company worked on defense projects. At the end of the war, Hinkle Contracting began constructing highways.
Hinkle has a long history of road building in Kentucky. A news release from Summit said Hinkle’s existing man-agement team will remain with the company. The Somerset Division has about 250 employees in Pulaski County.
Summit Materials was formed in 2009 to develop a leading business in the aggregates and heavy-side building materials sector. The company was founded by its CEO Tom Hill and a group of investors that include members of its management team.
“We are very excited about teaming up with Hinkle Contracting and its first-class manag-ement team under the leadership of Henry and Tom Hinkle,” said Hill. “Hinkle Contracting is the leading heavy building materials business in Kentucky and is an ideal regional platform from which to develop further in Kentucky and surr-ounding states,” he added.
Summit Materials last year acquired Hamm Inc., a privately held aggregates, landfill, asphalt construction company located in Perry, Kansas.
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LCADTF could lose big bucks
Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force officials estimate that the City of Somerset’s lack of involvement in the task force could lead to a loss of some $250,000 in federal funding per year — a chunk which could easily force the task force to close its doors.
David Keller, deputy director of Appalachia HIDTA, a major funding source for the local drug task force and the reason why federal and state law enforcement officers are able to be a part of the agency, says the agency’s current situation is more serious than many people realize.
Keller says HIDTA has made a “huge investment” in the LCADTF, but that folks shouldn’t get too comfortable with the agency’s ability to obtain grant money at the federal or state level.
“This is not entitlement money. ... Our grant is performance driven, and it’s sought after by competitive forces,” Keller said. “If this agency doesn’t produce, they stand a risk of not having the task force funded. That money will go someplace else — to another county that would love to have it.” -
HOME STRETCH
Less than a decade ago, Pleasant Hill was a pastoral community. Modern homes were tucked among shaded lawns. Cattle grazed peacefully at day and fireflies blinked in darkness. The area was served by a friendly little road called Clifty.
Things have changed and are changing. In a relatively few days, huge electric bulbs will glow, turning night forever into day. Horseless carriages will trek in places where tailpipes have belched never before. -
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