Officials discuss I-69 development

Providence Mayor not happy with Interstate plan

by Matt Hughes

J-E News Editor

On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, business and political leaders from across the region gathered in Madisonville, KY for the I-69 Development Conference.

The theme of the conference centered around how to turn this link to the Federal Interstate system into an economic boost to Western Kentucky.

“Roads aren’t just concrete and blacktop, they are connections,” said Governor Steve Beshear. “Connections get employees to their jobs, get seniors to the doctor’s office, farmers to the market and the rest of us to wherever we need to go. Good roads help attract new business.”

To those of us who are used to the Pennyrile Parkway, I-69 may seem like nothing more than a new sign on the same old road. But in many parts of the country the term “parkway” refers to a four-lane road with stop lights and often low speed limits. That’s not the case here, but business owners located several states away, or even in other countries might not be aware of this.

“Employers want safe and easy routes for their workers, and businesses, like manufacturers who ship goods or consume a lot of raw material need quick, and direct access to other states,” Beshear said. “In fact, for some businesses, access to an interstate is a make-or-break proposition.”

He went on to say that officials in the Cabinet for Economic Development report that Kentucky misses out on a lot of economic growth opportunities because when companies put in a request for information, many communities are just too far from the Federal Interstate System.

“That’s what I-69 is all about,” he said. “I-69 will have a huge impact on this region and what we will be able to make out of this region.”

Interstate 69 is a 2,680-mile project that stretches from its northern end at the Canadian border in Port Huron, Mich., to its southern end at the Mexican border at Brownsville, Texas. In between, the corridor passes through seven states. The states along the route are responsible for building I-69. 

Improvements to bring the roadways up to interstate standards in the amount of $146.6 million will be made on seven interchanges in Henderson, Webster, Hopkins, Marshall and Graves counties by 2018, Beshear said.  

“These old interchanges have small ramps made for toll booths, not for merging in at 70 mile-per-hour traffic.” he said. 

But not all local leaders are thrilled by the development of I-69. Eddie Gooch, Providence Mayor and Co-Owner of West Kentucky Steel, could not attend the conference but is very vocal on his opinion on the road.

“If I could have gone, I would have told them the same thing that I’ve always told them,” Gooch said. “Webster County got screwed again. The best we can do is to hope we get a few bread crumbs.”

Gooch said that his biggest complaint with the project was the route that it takes. A straight route from Indianapolis, to Evansville and then to Fulton, KY (Kentucky’s southern end of I-69) would have passed right through areas in northern Western Kentucky that needed an economic boost. Areas like Webster County.

“I don’t believe that it’s much cheaper to rebuild an old road than it is to build a new road,” Gooch stated. “But those of us who live in this area will have to drive on those roads for the next seven or eight years while they redo every exit ramp and bridge. If they had just built a new road it wouldn’t have inconvenienced anyone.”

He also pointed out that I-69 got routed through Governor Beshear’s hometown, just as I-24 was routed through Governor Julian Carroll’s hometown (Paducah) when he was in office.

“I-24 was supposed to come from Nashville and go straight through Webster County,” he said. “I don’t have the facts wrong about that. I’ve read the facts. I know the facts.”

Gooch said that local leaders should be focusing on US 41A instead of I-69. A plan to develop a four lane highway between Madisonville and Providence, he said, has been continually cut and shortened until it looks like it will never happen.

“I’ve been to every meeting about widening 41 since I’ve been mayor,” he said. “I will probably never live to drive on it.”

Gooch went on to say that rural areas such as Webster County needed infrastructure, or connection to four lane roads.

“It’s hard to attract new businesses on a two lane road,” he said.