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The Hal Rogers Parkway, formerly named the Daniel Boone Parkway, is a freeway connecting Somerset and Hazard in southeastern Kentucky. A former toll road, it 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) with that mileage to have been included with an unconstructed limited-access London bypass and what is east of this area. The original portion of the road is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9006 (HR 9006). An extension of the Hal Rogers Parkway name west along Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) to U.S. Route 27 (US 27) in Somerset was made in 2015 bringing the total mileage to 91.135 miles (146.668 km).
 Hal Rogers Parkway | |
|---|---|
 Original portion in red; 2015 extension in purple | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by KYTC | |
| Length | 91.135 mi[1] (146.668 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |   US 27 / KY 80 in Somerset |
| East end |  KY 15 / KY 80 near Hazard |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| Counties | Pulaski, Laurel, Clay, Leslie, Perry |
| Highway system | |
| |
Route description
editPer the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), the Hal Rogers Parkway begins in Somerset, Pulaski County, at the intersection of US 27 and KY 80 north of downtown area.[2] The highway heads east as a four-lane divided highway with a concrete median and turning lanes provided at the at-grade intersections through the northern neighborhoods of the city. Passing the eastern terminus of KY 914, the median becomes grass and eventually exits the city limits of Somerset for a more rural area of Pulaski County. After its intersection with KY 461 near Shopville, the Parkway narrows to an undivided highway with two lanes and occasional turning and passing lanes provided. As it enters the Daniel Boone National Forest, the highway winds its way around small mountain valleys. Crossing the Rockcastle River into Laurel County, the highway heads a straighter course through the small mountains. Before exiting the national forest, the highway widens to a four-lane divided highway again with the number of commercial businesses located around the highway increasing as it heads east. After entering the city of London, the Parkway passes many intersections for minor state highways before interchanging with Interstate 75 (I-75) at its exit 41 around many traveler-related businesses. After the interchange, a center turn lane is provided along the highway to serve additional businesses and side streets.[3]
Upon reaching its intersection with US 25, KY 80 exits the Parkway while the Parkway alone (unsigned HR 9006) continues east as a four-lane undivided highway with a center turn lane. East of KY 30/KY 354 and the North Laurel High School, the parkway narrows to two lanes and features a few more at-grade intersections near downtown London. Past KY 192, the Parkway becomes a two-lane expressway featuring a mix of at-grade intersections, overpasses without access, and interchanges. In Hazard, the Parkway intersects three local streets at-grade before terminating at an interchange with KY 15 and KY 80.[3]
History
edit
As a toll road
editThe then-Daniel Boone Parkway, as with all eight of the other parkways, was originally a toll road from its 1971 opening until 2003.[4][5]
By Kentucky state law, toll collection ceases when enough toll has been collected or funds received from other sources, such as a legislative appropriation, to pay off the construction bonds for the parkway. The toll booths were dismantled soon after the tolls were removed on June 1, 2003, and new Hal Rogers Parkway signs replaced the Daniel Boone Parkway signs sometime later in the same year. 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 located at exit 34 and 44 in Clay and Leslie counties, respectively, along with the stretch of parkway from the western terminus at US 25 to KY 192, totaling 4 miles (6.4 km) in Laurel County, and from milepost 58 to exit 59 in Perry County near Hazard.
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 a parkway originally named for 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.[6] On October 14, 2015, at a surprise ceremony attended by Rogers, Governor Steve Beshear and KYTC officials renamed a 32-mile (51 km) stretch of KY 80 between Somerset and London as an extension of the Hal Rogers Parkway. Somerset was the residence of Rogers at the time of the renaming.[7] The road had been named the Russell Dyche Memorial Highway for a London newspaperman and politician.[8]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski | Somerset | 0.000 | 0.000 |    US 27 / KY 80 west to Cumberland Parkway – Stanford, Bowling Green | Western end of KY 80 concurrency | |
| 0.124 | 0.200 | KY 2300 south (Clifty Street) | Northern terminus of KY 2300 | |||
| 0.754 | 1.213 |  KY 1247 (North Main Street) – Somerset Business District | ||||
| 1.087 | 1.749 |  KY 39 (Crab Orchard Street) – Somerset High School, Pulaski County High School, Crab Orchard, Somerset | ||||
| 1.862 | 2.997 |   KY 3260 north (Pumphouse Road) | Southern terminus of KY 3260 | |||
| 2.315 | 3.726 |    KY 80 Bus. west to KY 192 | Eastern terminus of KY 80 Bus. | |||
| 2.751 | 4.427 |   KY 914 west (Southeastern Bypass) / Garner School Road | Eastern terminus of KY 914; to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport | |||
| 4.795 | 7.717 |  KY 3260 south (Pumphouse Road) | Northern terminus of KY 3260 | |||
| Barnesburg | 6.640 | 10.686 |  KY 1317 north | Southern terminus of KY 1317 | ||
| Shopville | 8.773 | 14.119 |  KY 461 north / Old Shopville Road – Mt. Vernon | Interchange; southern terminus of KY 461 | ||
| 9.388 | 15.109 |  KY 692 south (Grundy Road) | Northern terminus of KY 692 | |||
| 10.494 | 16.888 |  KY 1003 south / Shopville Road Conn. West | Northern terminus of KY 1003 | |||
| Stab | 12.526 | 20.159 |  KY 1675 south / Rocky Tree Road | Northern terminus of KY 1675 | ||
| Squib | 18.841 | 30.322 |   KY 1956 east (Old London Road) / Squib-Ano Road | Western terminus of KY 1956 | ||
| Laurel | | 28.352 | 45.628 |  KY 1535 (Sinking Creek Road) | ||
| | 29.700 | 47.798 |  KY 1035 (Pine Top Road) | |||
| London | 30.811 | 49.585 | KY 1956 west (Somerset Road) / Carrera Drive | Eastern terminus of KY 1956 | ||
| 31.096 | 50.044 | KY 3534 east (Jerrys Road) / Shiloh Drive | Western terminus of KY 3534 | |||
| 31.306 | 50.382 | KY 3534 west (Jerrys Road) / Faith Assembly Church Road | Eastern terminus of KY 3534 | |||
| 31.442– 31.584 | 50.601– 50.830 |  I-75 – Knoxville, Lexington | Exit 41 (I-75) | |||
| 31.801 | 51.179 |  KY 3006 south (New Frontage Road) / Gop Street | Northern terminus of KY 3006; to CHI St. Joseph Health - London | |||
| 32.047 | 51.575 |  US 25 / KY 80 east (North Main Street) – Levi Jackson State Park, London | Eastern end of KY 80 concurrency, western terminus of HR 9006; to CHI St. Joseph Health - London | |||
| 32.813 | 52.807 |  KY 1769 south (Moren Road) | Northern terminus of KY 1769 | |||
| 33.136 | 53.327 |   KY 30 north / KY 354 south (Tobacco Road) – Annville, Tyner, McKee | Southern terminus of KY 30; northern terminus of KY 354 | |||
| 34.297 | 55.196 |  KY 638 (McWhorter Street) | ||||
| 35.057 | 56.419 |  KY 472 (Johnson Road) | ||||
| 35.924 | 57.814 |  KY 192 west to I-75 south / Rebecca Lane – Levi Jackson State Park | Eastern terminus of KY 192 | |||
| Clay | Manchester | 53.565 | 86.205 | 20 |  KY 80 to US 421 – Manchester | Interchange |
| Hector Creek | 59.501 | 95.758 |   KY 873 (Elk Mountain Road) to KY 149 | |||
| Big Creek | 65.851 | 105.977 |  To KY 66 | Former exit 34; access via unsigned KY 66C | ||
| Leslie | Thousandsticks | 76.235 | 122.688 |  KY 118 south – Hyden | Former exit 44; northern terminus of KY 118; to Mary Breckinridge ARH Hospital | |
| Perry | | 88.503 | 142.432 | 56 |  KY 451 | Interchange |
| Hazard | 91.135 | 146.668 | 59 | KY 15 / KY 80 – Hazard, Jackson, Prestonsburg, Pikeville | Interchange; eastern terminus of HR 9006 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| ||||||
References
edit- ^ a b "Kentucky Transportation Cabinet - Division of Planning - Highway Information System Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ KYTC General Highway Map (Map). Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "Hal Rogers Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (1998). Kentucky Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Frankfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Parkways and Toll Rates table (lower right-hand corner) inset.
- ^ Rand McNally (2002). "Kentucky" (Map). The Road Atlas (2002 ed.). 1 in≈30 mi. Chicago: Rand McNally. p. 43.
- ^ "Debate over renaming Daniel Boone Parkway opens new frontiers". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. August 7, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
- ^ Mardis, Bill (October 15, 2015). "Ky. 80 extension is named in honor of Rep. Hal Rogers". Commonwealth Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ McDaniel, Rob (October 19, 2015). "Stretch of Ky. 80 renamed for Hal Rogers". The Sentinel Echo.