Upgrades to Interstate 65 and the Natcher Parkway are coming soon, along with improvements to the U.S. 31-W By-Pass and Scottsville Road in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s just-released 2018 highway plan.

But other needed projects, including widening of Three Springs Road and Fairview Avenue, must wait at least until the final four years of the six-year plan.

With a greater emphasis in this year’s plan on what’s called asset management, or placing priority on rehabilitating existing roads instead of building new ones, the work on I-65 pavement will continue while upgrading the Natcher Parkway to interstate standards will get some funding.

The state’s $2.68 billion biennium (2018-20) spending plan includes $113 million worth of projects in the 10-county region covered by the KYTC District 3 office in Bowling Green.

Warren County’s portion of that is $47 million, much of which will go to the I-65 and Natcher Parkway improvements.

The two-year spending plan includes a $9.57 million expenditure in fiscal year 2019 for addressing the pavement condition of I-65 from milepoint 35.616 to milepoint 42.89, and an $11.08 million allocation the following year for pavement upgrades on the Natcher Parkway from milepoint 9.2 to milepoint 20.246.

A separate budget item listed under Butler County projects calls for spending $18.25 million in 2019 for modernization of the Natcher Parkway from the I-65 interchange north to the Butler-Ohio county line.

“There’s an emphasis on the Natcher Parkway and upgrading it to interstate standards,” said KYTC District 3 Chief Engineer Joe Plunk.

The biennium plan doesn’t include funding for reconstruction of the exit 9 interchange on the Natcher Parkway (Morgantown Road interchange), but $8.2 million for that project is in the 2021 portion of the six-year plan.

Upgrades to the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway that runs through Barren County are also among the funded projects in the biennium budget.

Although there is no longer a need to upgrade that parkway to interstate standards after the I-66 project was canceled by the Federal Highway Administration in 2015, more than $3.5 million is in the budget for addressing pavement conditions in both directions on the parkway from milepoint 16.117 to milepoint 20.1.

An additional $12.1 million is in the 2021 budget for further improvements to the Cumberland Parkway.

The upgrades to I-65 and the Natcher and Cumberland parkways tie in with the emphasis on asset management, according to Plunk.

“This (highway plan) is balanced out a lot more than past plans,” he said. “It focuses on fixing existing roads and emphasizes safety.”

The statewide biennium spending plan includes $548 million for bridge improvements and $356 million for pavement improvements. It’s also a more realistic plan that doesn’t have as much overbudgeting as past plans, according to Plunk.

“The good news is that the highway plan is much closer to being balanced than it has been in many years,” said Plunk, who pointed out that the biennium highway plan is $150 million over budget. “It’s not a good service to the citizens to have plans that aren’t funded.”

The more-balanced plan is a result of the state’s new Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow program. The formula is an objective approach that uses data on safety, congestion, asset management, economic growth and cost-benefit ratios.

“This data-driven plan moves us in the right direction of prioritizing key road and bridge projects in view of actual available funding,” Gov. Matt Bevin said in a news release.

In addition to the high-profile I-65 and Natcher Parkway improvements, other projects in and around Warren County survived the SHIFT process to be included in the 2018-2020 plan.

Among them are a $1.17 million allocation for addressing deficiencies of the Ky. 1435 bridge over the Gasper River, a $410,000 project to improve Ky. 526 that provides access to Warren East High School and a $575,000 expenditure to install a left-turn lane on Ky. 242 (Rich Pond Road) into Rich Pond Elementary School.

The biennium spending plan also includes $500,000 in 2019 and $3.25 million in 2020 for widening U.S. 31-W from Park Avenue to Fairview and another $3.75 million in 2019 for improvements to 31-W from Campbell Lane to University Boulevard.

Another item of interest is a total allocation of $5.1 million for 2018 and 2019 to improve U.S. 231 (Scottsville Road) from Pascoe Boulevard to north of Cave Mill Road.

“It’s widening and access management,” explained Plunk, who said the project will include dual left-turn lanes onto Cave Mill Road and a center barrier to prevent left turns except at traffic signals.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said the Scottsville Road improvements “should help to move traffic, reduce congestion and vehicle accidents and improve safety for shoppers and commuters.”

The biennium plan also allocates $4.55 million for a new construction project called the southwest parkway that will connect U.S. 68 (Russellville Road) to Kobe Way in the South Industrial Park along Nashville Road.

“This is a big need for us,” said Buchanon. “It will improve safety, reduce congestion and fuel economic growth.”

The state’s six-year highway plan calls for a total investment of $8.5 billion, although spending for projects in the final four years isn’t guaranteed.

Included in those final four years is total expenditures of $3.3 million to make some improvements to Fairview Avenue, a heavily traveled road that connects to I-65.

Plunk explained the Fairview projects involve extending the five-lane section of the road from Hays Lane to Fairview Cemetery and improving the Hampton Drive intersection by including a roundabout or a turn lane.

Additional widening of Three Springs Road was also relegated to the “out years” of 2020-24. The project, with a total price tag of $11.73 million, calls for extending the five-laning of the road from Flealand to the Natcher Parkway and includes building a new bridge over the parkway.

A much-needed improvement of the winding Ky. 185 (Richardsville Road) is included in the “out years” as well, with $5 million earmarked for 2021 to improve the road from Ky. 263 to the Butler County line. The rural road claimed two traffic deaths in 2016 and three more in 2017.

“This has been on our needs list for several years and will improve safety for thousands of daily commuters to and from Butler County,” said Buchanon.

Considering the projects in this biennium and in the six-year plan, Buchanon thinks Warren County fared well.

“Although there are still many shortfalls in our roads and highway needs here in our community that have been prioritized by the Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization, we recognize the finite resources available and appreciate the job our legislators did this session, as we fared relatively well compared to most counties,” he said.

Whether funding is in place for those final four years of the highway plan is to be determined. A KYTC project team will soon begin the 18-month SHIFT process to develop the 2020 highway plan. The next six-year plan will be presented to the General Assembly in January 2020.