Road widening project moved up, concerns raised on political support

Aug. 16—A long talked about road-widening project near the intersection of U.S. 25 and KY 1006 is now on the radar of state officials after it was moved up on the Transportation Cabinet's list.

The Lexington Herald Leader reported last week that the project to widen that section of roadway was originally set for completion by Fiscal Year 2025 but had been moved up for the end of 2023.

According to the article in the Lexington-based newspaper, the road-widening project was not one of those approved by Gov. Andy Beshear but was approved by the request of Sen. Brandon Storm and was supported by Laurel/Knox Rep. Tom Odell Smith.

However, that roadway borders the Greer Industrial Park, where London Mayor Randall Weddle's business, WB Transport, is located — raising more questions regarding the advancement of funding for the project since Weddle and associates have donated to the Kentucky Democrat Party and Beshear's re-election campaign. Many of those donations were deemed illegal and $202,000 refunded back to Weddle. Weddle then donated $75,000 to the Democratic Governor's Association — one of the largest donations to that group, according to the Herald Leader article.

The political connections then brought concern from other legislators and state leaders regarding the advancement of the road project.

Weddle responded to questions about the project.

"This project was being worked on way before WB was even built in the park," Weddle said. "Paula Thompson (executive director of London Laurel County Economic Development Authority) is due all the credit for this project. She worked very hard to secure funds to get this done. Brandon Storm, Derek Lewis, Tom and many others worked to make this project happen. It has absolutely nothing to do with me or anyone else for that matter. I hate anyone has made this political and taken credit from individuals who deserve it."

Storm could not be reached for comment at press time to clarify the basis of his request. Rep. Tom Smith did not respond to emails or phone messages.

State Transportation Cabinet District 10 Chief Chris Jones was quoted in the Herald Leader article — repeated to The Sentinel Echo — as saying the project, which is now estimated at $1.1 million, was needed.

"I made the recommendation to speed up the project to save money and time and improve safety. The project was advocated by Senator Storm, who obtained a cost estimate for it from our district staff. The Governor was not involved in any of the decision making and I had no knowledge of any political contributions," Jones said.

"The project hasn't even begun yet," he added.

Thompson, however, said she had been working on widening the roadway long before Greer Industrial Park had its first occupant.

"The London-Laurel County Economic Development Authority purchased the 130-acre parcel in 2017 and immediately realized that a road widening would be necessary for traffic flow and safety of private passenger vehicles," she said. "In 2017 we had the property surveyor set back 12 feet off of Old Whitley Road from the intersection of US 25 down to the park entrance, Springlake Boulevard, before we sold any parcels to add a new lane.

"Industrial traffic from The Dennis Karr Airpark, with five industrial tenants as well as a call center directly on Old Whitley Road, use this roadway as well as two businesses in Greer Industrial Park.

"Eight industrial businesses use this section of highway today with two future businesses to be added. There are more than one hundred tractor trailers on this stretch of road daily and we need to make sure safety is the number one priority.

"Since our creation of the Greer Park began, I asked for assistance from the KY Department of Transportation and our legislative team to secure funding for this widening.

"I was informed in 2022 — five years later my first request — that the project would be funded by the Manchester Transportation Cabinet and we have been working to deed that property to them this month," she concluded.

Thompson added that the project was initially estimated at over $3 million, and attached correspondence from former Transportation District 11 chief engineer Mike Calebs. That notification to Thompson, dated July 18, 2019, read as follows:

"The estimate to widen KY 1006 to three lanes from US 25W to Greer Industrial Park is attached on the legislative request form as a rural estimate with widening and 4 foot shoulders is $1.6 million to construct with utilities right-of-way and Design making it a $2.7 million project.

"The Urban estimate is $2 million to construct, for a total cost of $3.1 million. The urban estimate includes curb and gutter and sidewalks," the document stated.

KY 1006 hosts two industrial parks. One houses H.T. Warehousing, which has a high volume of semi-trucks entering and exiting onto KY 1006 and U.S. 25. JRD Systems LLC is also located in that particular industrial park. Another industrial park across the road known as Dennis Karr Airpark — houses our other smaller businesses including H.T. Warehousing, which also ships out products in semi-trucks. Bordering that industrial park is Maximus call center, which employs over 1,000 people. The Dennis Karr Airpark also borders the London-Corbin Airport.

But Weddle's contributions to Beshear — who was present for the opening of WB Transport last year — continues to raise questions among Republican and Democrat leaders as to the advancement of the road project.

The Herald Leader article quotes Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jimmy Higdon of Lebanon as saying he is concerned about the $1.1 million appropriation for the KY 1006 and U.S. 25 widening project, especially since Weddle's political contributions.

Transportation Cabinet officials refuted Higdon's comments, adding that Storm had requested the project after it was not included in the 2022 road funding. Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray called Higdon's statement "baseless."

Transportation Cabinet Spokesperson Chuck Wolfe said moving the road widening project up was "an incredibly responsible decision to expeditiously address a safety need," in the Herald Leader article. He also provided an official request from Storm, asking for the project in early 2022, due to more businesses locating in the two industrial parks and increased traffic from those businesses.