Dangerous paving on Ky. 39 to be redone

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November 7, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Sat Nov 07, 2009, 08:15 PM EST

When the repaving work on Ky. 39 began around a month ago, residents who use the heavily traveled roadway assumed its conditions would be improved.

By the end of the three weeks it took to complete the work, a much different result had emerged.

Drivers were appalled to discover that a significant stretch of Ky. 39 — from just before the Eagles Nest turn off to the area of Buck Creek bridge — was much worse than it had been before.

“To me it’s just a safety concern for our kids and the buses that travel it (Ky. 39) every day,” said Brenda Cable, who lives approximately 12 miles out. Cable had contacted the Commonwealth Journal on Wednesday with her concerns.

Dips and rises are obvious, and drivers came to the conclusion that Ky. 39 — long considered a dangerous road often taken too fast by motorists — was actually more dangerous than it had been before.

Calls began to flood local officials’ offices.

Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock, the county magistrates, the Kentucky Department of Transportation, and even U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers received complaints from residents.

“We’ve had lots and lots of calls from the people living on Ky. 39,” said Neil Shoemaker, chief district engineer with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

But those officials don’t blame them. In fact, they want those residents to know that what happened during that repaving will not happen again.

“We have not received the desired results to result in a safe driving situation,” said Shoemaker.

Shoemaker said a review process has been set in motion from the state’s side, and Hinkle Contracting, which carried out the work, is also retracing steps to determine where the work went wrong — and why it wasn’t corrected.

“It’s sparked concerns with quality control both within the transportation cabinet and within Hinkle Contracting,” Shoemaker said. “They’re aware of it too.”

According to Shoemaker, problems began when workers first milled the road. In other words, the old existing road surface was removed by machine to expose the road base. When that step was carried out, the surface was not leveled out as well as it should have been, resulting an uneven riding surface.

“During the initial construction phase of the project, we didn’t get the quality we desired,” Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker said corrections were attempted during the paving through leveling and wedging, but the imperfections were too significant to be fixed.

That’s why crews are going back out to start from scratch and correct the problems. Beginning this Tuesday, work should begin again.

“The public should see us out there,” Shoemaker said.

Some sections of the road will be remilled, while others will be leveled. Shoemaker said the repairs should take around two weeks.

“Hopefully, we’ll come out with better results,” Shoemaker said, noting that situations such as the one on Ky. 39 do not happen often. He added that Hinkle has consistently done good work on the roads.

And that work is not at the expense of taxpayers. The new work will come at the cost of the contractor.

“We have a great working relationship with Hinkle,” Shoemaker said. “We’re professionals working with professionals.”

Shoemaker emphasized that the Ky. 39 situation will be looked at as a learning experience by the state and Hinkle — and that the public can expect not to see a situation like that again.

“We don’t spend taxpayers’ money unless we get a good result,” Shoemaker said.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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