Hal Rogers Parkway
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2007) |
 Hal Rogers Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Maintained by KYTC | |
| Length | 59.088 mi[1] (95.093 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |    I-75 / US 25 / KY 80 in London |
| East end |  KY 15 / KY 80 near Hazard |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| Counties | Laurel, Clay, Leslie, Perry |
| Highway system | |
| |
The Hal Rogers Parkway, formerly named the Daniel Boone Parkway, connects London and Hazard in southeastern Kentucky. This toll road opened in November 1971,[citation needed] and the tolls were removed June 1, 2003.[citation needed] The original extent of the highway was to be 65.70 miles (105.73 km) instead of today's 62.90, with that mileage to have been used on a limited-access London bypass. This, however, was not completed. The road is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9006 (HR 9006).
History
Renaming controversy
U.S. Representative Hal Rogers was the forerunner in getting the tolls lifted on the Daniel Boone Parkway, securing $13 million in federal funding. Former governor Paul E. Patton, to thank him for removing the tolls on the highway, renamed the Daniel Boone Parkway the Hal Rogers Parkway. This stirred a lot of controversy among Kentucky residents and descendants of Daniel Boone who were offended that the famous pioneer, who helped settle Kentucky, was renamed for a sitting congressman whose main accomplishment was getting the tolls lifted off of the parkway. Soon after, the Associated Press picked up the controversy regarding the renaming of the parkway and outrage over the renaming has been heard across the United States and as far as the United Kingdom.[2]
The toll booths were dismantled soon after the tolls were removed on June 1 of 2003, and new Hal Rogers Parkway signs replaced the Daniel Boone Parkway signs. The two at-grade toll booths at exits 34 and 44 were converted into regular intersections and the mainline toll booth near London was dismantled. It is the only parkway in the state of Kentucky to be almost exclusively two-lanes with the occasional truck lanes on the hills. There is a center paint divider with rumble strips added as a safety feature. The only at-grade intersections are at Exit 34 and 44, from the western terminus at US 25 to KY 192, totaling four-miles (6 km), and from milepost 58 to Exit 59.
Future
Interstate 66
The parkway was designated a part of the "Future Interstate 66 Corridor", a proposed four-lane Interstate utilizing the existing Cumberland and Hal Rogers Parkway, among other routes, across the southern tier of Kentucky. It cannot be signed as an Interstate until it has permanent connections to the east and west, both of which have not been determined due to the King Coal Highway in West Virginia being built as a corridor-standard roadway for US 52. When further studies were made for the new I-66 corridor plans were changed to make no changes to the parkway but to create an entire new interstate corridor parallel to the parkway but merging off to near the east end to create a southern bypass at Hazard, Ky where it will then continue east. Rumors and suggestions were made to completely replace the parkway name and number to an upgraded Ky 80 giving the present lower standard Ky 80 a completely new 3 or 4 digit number (not taking the Ky 9006 number). No plans have been made that action.
Major intersections
From I-75/US 25/KY 80 to KY 192 in London, the Hal Rogers Parkway is a four-lane, at-grade highway. East of KY 192, the parkway narrows to two lanes and becomes a grade-separated, limited-access highway except for intersections at the former locations of toll barriers along the road. In Hazard, the parkway intersects three local streets at-grade before terminating at KY 15/KY 80.
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | London | 0.000 | 0.000 | I-75 / US 25 / KY 80 | ||
| 0.766 | 1.233 |   KY 1769 south | Northern terminus of KY 1769 | |||
| 1.089 | 1.753 |    KY 30 north / KY 354 south | Southern terminus of KY 30; northern terminus of KY 354 | |||
| 2.250 | 3.621 |  KY 638 | ||||
| 3.010 | 4.844 |  KY 472 | ||||
| 3.877 | 6.239 |   KY 192 west | Eastern terminus of KY 192; eastern end of at-grade highway and western end of limited-access highway | |||
| Clay | Manchester | 20.437 | 32.890 | 20 | KY 80 – London, Manchester | |
| Hector |  KY 873 | at-grade intersection | ||||
| Big Creek | 33.804 | 54.402 | 34 |  KY 66 | At-grade intersection; formerly exit 34 | |
| Leslie | Thousandsticks | 44.188 | 71.114 | 44 |  KY 118 south | At-grade intersection; formerly exit 44; northern terminus of KY 118 |
| Perry | | 56.428 | 90.812 | 56 |  KY 451 – Hazard | |
| Hazard | 59.088 | 95.093 | 59 | KY 15 / KY 80 – Hazard, Jackson | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
References
- ^ a b "Kentucky Transportation Cabinet - Division of Planning - Highway Information System Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
- ^ "Debate over renaming Daniel Boone Parkway opens new frontiers". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. August 7, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
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