Bluegrass Parkway
| |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 71.134 mi[1] (114.479 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: |
 I-65 in Elizabethtown |
|
  US 127 / KY 513 near Lawrenceburg | |
| East end: |
 US 60 near Versailles |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Hardin, Nelson, Washington, Anderson, Mercer, Woodford |
| Highway system | |
The Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Woodford County, Kentucky, for a length of 71.134 miles (114.479 km). It intersects with Interstate 65 at its western terminus, and U.S. Route 60 at its eastern terminus. It is one of nine highways that are part of the Kentucky parkway system. The road is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9002 (BG 9002). It is constructed similar to the Interstate Highway system, though sections do not measure up to current Interstate standards. Long range plans suggest that the Blue Grass Parkway could become part of Interstate 50.
History
In 2003, the road was renamed in honor of Martha Layne Collins, the first female governor of Kentucky. Previously, it was simply the Blue Grass Parkway (sometimes with "Bluegrass" as one word, though in the highway's name, it was officially two words), and often called the "BG Parkway" because of the abbreviation used on its signs.
The parkway was opened in November 1965 and was originally a toll road, as were all Kentucky parkways. The parkway route largely parallels that of U.S. Route 62. State law requires that toll collection ceases when enough tolls are collected to pay off the parkway's construction bonds; that occurred in 1991.
Route description
The parkway passes the cities of Bardstown, Harrodsburg, and Versailles. The toll plazas were located at (from west to east):
- Exit 10, New Haven/Boston
- Exit 34, Springfield/Bloomfield
- Exit 59, Lawrenceburg/Harrodsburg
Future
Interstate 64
No connection to Interstate 64 was planned as it had not been constructed and would not open until the late 1970s.
| Under the provisions of Chapter 173 of the Acts of 1960, Kentucky Revised Statutes (Section 175.410 to 175.990), the Turnpike Authority of Kentucky was created as an independent corporate agency and instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the financing and construction of one or more turnpike projects. |
| The Department of Highways had traffic and engineering studies made relative to the construction of the Central Kentucky Toll Road which is approximately 71 miles (114 km) in length, extending from a point on the Kentucky Turnpike and Interstate 65 in the vicinity of the City of Elizabethtown in the county of Hardin to a point on US 60 east of the city of Versailles in the county of Woodford.[2][3] The toll road opened to traffic on October 27, 1965. |
| -"Central Kentucky Toll Road (Bluegrass Parkway)" |
By the time the road opened, however, it was renamed the Bluegrass Parkway.[2] There have been talks for a direct connection from the eastern terminus of the parkway at US 60 to Interstate 64, but all have failed. Such a connection would almost certainly draw enormous opposition in the Lexington area due to the many horse farms that would be adversely affected; the thoroughbred breeding industry is an important direct employer and a major tourist draw in the region.
Interstate 50
Bluegrass Parkway has been considered for the routing of the cross nation Interstate 50 through the area.
Exit list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin | Elizabethtown | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | I-65 – Louisville, Elizabethtown/Nashville, Paducah | Western terminus and signed as exits 0A (south) & 0B (north); I-65 exit 93 and parkway ends |
| Youngers Creek | 7.900 | 12.714 | 8 |   KY 583 to US 62 – Youngers Creek | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Nelson | | 9.523 | 15.326 | 10 |  KY 52 to US 62 – New Haven, Boston | |
| Bardstown | 20.459 | 32.926 | 21 |  US 31E – Bardstown, Hodgenville | ||
| 24.469 | 39.379 | 25 |  US 150 – Bardstown, Springfield | |||
| | 33.301 | 53.593 | 34 |  KY 55 – Springfield, Bloomfield | ||
| Washington | Brush Grove | 41.401 | 66.628 | 42 |  KY 555 south – Springfield, Lebanon | |
| Anderson | | 47.838 | 76.988 | 48 |  KY 53 to US 62 – Willisburg | |
| | 58.791 | 94.615 | 59 |  US 127 to I-64 – Lawrenceburg, Frankfort, Harrodsburg, Danville | Signed as Exits 59A and 59B | |
| Woodford | Versailles | 68.248 | 109.835 | 68 |  KY 33 – Versailles | |
| 71.134 | 114.479 | 72 | US 60 – Versailles, Lexington | Eastern terminus and signed as exits 72A (west) & 72B (east); parkway ends | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
References
- 1 2 "Kentucky Transportation Cabinet — Division of Planning — Highway Information System Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Archived from the original on 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- 1 2 "Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway". kentuckyroads.com.
- ↑ "Park City Daily News — Google News Archive Search". google.com.
- Carlyle, Jeffrey. "Re: Lexington loop?" Online posting. 1 May 2002. 1 May 2002.
- "Report on Examination of Financial Statements and Supplemental Data — Central Kentucky Toll Road (Bluegrass Parkway)." Cook and Taylor Certified Public Accountants. 30 June 1982. Accessed 12 March 2004.
External links
- KentuckyRoads.com — Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway
- YouTube Video: Kentucky Blue Grass Parkway West