The improvement of KY 54 from U.S. 60 to Bold Forbes Way remains one of the top road project priorities for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, but local officials could take steps to boost it higher on the list.
KYTC on Monday released the pre-boost scores statewide for the Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT). The SHIFT process helps KYTC decide which tasks are a priority to complete on a state and local level.
The KY 54 improvement from U.S. 60 to Bold Forbes Way was the highest ranking of the projects submitted for Owensboro, though it was 14th on the statewide list with a score of 64.28. The highest score among all projects in the Commonwealth was 71.87.
The scores are based on seven attributes: safety, economic growth, congestion, benefit/cost, asset management, resiliency, and non-motorized mobility.
The MPO is given three “boosts” — each worth 15 points — to raise the score of any of their projects.
Tom Lovett, Director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the MPO will meet in September to discuss which of their projects they want to “boost.”
“We’re at 14 now,” he said of their top ranking. “If everybody ahead of us throws two boosts on their projects, then we’re gonna stay at 14. We can drop down from 14 if we don’t put two boosts on it, which is most likely going to happen.”
The MPO’s 15 submitted projects received the following pre-boost scores out of 100:
- Improve KY 54 from U.S. 60 to Bold Forbes Way – 64.28
- Improve KY 54 from Thruston-Dermont to Countryside Drive – 57.90
- Widening KY 54 from Bold Forbes Way to Thruston-Dermont Drive – 54.18
- Reconstruct Thruston-Dermont Drive from near Hayden Road to KY 144 – 49.61
- Reconstruct Goetz Drive from Southtown Boulevard to Frederica Street – 45.94
- Widen Old Hartford Road from Harriet Lane to Burlew Boulevard – 43.77
- Construct an interchange at U.S. 231/U.S. 60 at Maceo – 42.54
- Improve Fariview Drive from Settles Lane to KY 54 – 41.99
- Reconstruct SE Parkway from New Hartford Road to Old Hartford Road – 39.67
- Improve pavement condition on Old Hartford Road from Burlew Boulevard to Breckenridge Street – 38.69
- Reconstruct Thruston-Dermont Road from KY 54 to Hayden Road – 37.31
- Address deficiencies of Glover Cary Bridge over Ohio River. Joint project with Indiana – 33.68
- Reconstruct the intersection at Old Hartford Road and Fairview Drive – 32.01
- Address deficiencies of Lyddane Bridge Road over Flat Rock Creek – 29.63
- Widen Todd Bridge Road from Keller Road to Southtown Boulevard, including a shared-use path – 29.00
- Reconstruct Pleasant Valley Road No. 1 from Hayden Road to Thruston-Dermont Road – 25.37
- Improve the intersection of Old Hartford Road and East 26th Street to provide a left-turn lane – 25.15
- Reconstruct Hayden Road from KY 603 to Thruston-Dermont Road – 21.55
- Reconstruct Pleasant Valley Road from KY 144 to improvements north of the hospital – 20.80
- Construct a connector road from Grimes Avenue to KY 603 – 10.24
