More than $21 million approved for Eastern Ky. road continually threatened by flooding

More than $21 million in federal funding will go toward improving and widening a key stretch of road in Breathitt County that has been continually threatened by floodwaters in recent years, multiple elected officials announced Thursday.

The road — KY 15 — helps to connect the southeastern Kentucky cities of Whitesburg, Hazard and Jackson with the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway and the central part of the state.

The money will go toward widening the road to five lanes as it goes by Jackson as part of the Panbowl Lake Corridor Project, Gov. Andy Beshear’s office said. A sidewalk and shared-use path will also be added.

“We are extremely excited about this federal funding that will widen and make improvements to an extremely busy section of KY 15 and improve the drainage structures in the Panbowl Lake watershed that was pushed close to its breaking point from flooding in 2021 and 2022,” Jackson Mayor Laura Thomas said in a press release.

Thomas thanked Republicans Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Hal Rogers as well as Democrat Gov. Beshear. In separate releases, all three elected officials announced the funding which comes as part of the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program.

“Great things happen when everyone works together from the county and city to the state and federal levels,” said Jeff Noble, the Breathitt County judge-executive.

Lexington also received $8.1 million in infrastructure money through the grant to rebuild a dangerous railroad overpass. Bellevue received money for a riverfront trail.

“The health of Kentucky’s economy is closely tied to the strength of our bridges, dams, roads, and railways,” McConnell said. “These federal funds will support much-needed projects across the Commonwealth that will serve Kentuckians for years to come.”

In Jackson, the road passes over a dam that separates the North Fork of the Kentucky River from the man-made Panbowl Lake. When devastating flooding struck the area in February 2021 and July 2022, water seeped through the dam’s west embankment.

In the aftermath of the 2022 floods, parts of Jackson near the lake were evacuated and the road was temporarily closed. A $5.9 million project to stabilize and strengthen the dam began in August 2022 and was completed earlier this month, Beshear’s office said.

“I was proud to support the application for this crucial grant and I applaud the U.S. Department of Transportation for investing in this worthy project to help protect our people,” Rogers said.