FRANKFORT, KY — Gov. Andy Beshear announces that a nearly $50 million highway improvement project is underway to bring improvements to a heavily traveled state highway corridor in Breathitt County, providing added safety and economic benefits for Eastern Kentuckians.
The project will add lanes and sidewalks to a busy stretch of Kentucky Highway 15 within the city limits of Jackson, Kentucky. It also will further strengthen and stabilize the dam that holds Panbowl Lake, which underwent a project last year to prevent flooding in the lake’s watershed.
“This project will not only improve a busy stretch of road in Jackson, but it will also further strengthen the dam that holds Panbowl Lake. This is a dam that we were worried would break in both the 2021 and 2022 floods,” Beshear said. “We are proud to stand with Breathitt County as we get this $50 million project underway and greatly improve the safety for folks living in this area.”
This project received an approximately $21.15 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant made possible by the 2023 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Total cost for construction is around $49.55 million. Triton Construction Inc. was awarded a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet contract for the work.
“We get things done by working smarter together,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said. “These upgrades will improve travel between southeastern Kentucky and the central part of the state. Our partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation connects Eastern Kentucky communities while keeping them safer.”
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Utility relocation work near the project has been ongoing for several months. Now, construction is ramping up on a little more than a mile of KY 15 from the intersection with Kentucky Highway 30 to the intersection of Kentucky Highway 1812 (Main Street) and on a portion of Washington Street.
