The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released their final report declaring an outer loop not feasible at this time, though the project team noted a specific segment — a connector between U.S. 231 to I-165 — worthy of consideration for future development.
The project team found that Section G — a .76 mile connection from U.S. 231 near State Route 298 to I-165 near State Route 142 — was deemed “significantly higher benefit-cost value compared to the other segments.”
“As a result, Segment G could potentially be considered as part of a future potential interchange along I-165 and an associated new connection to US 231,” the report reads.
However, the development of Segment G is not included in Kentucky’s Fiscal Year 2020 – 2026 Highway Plan nor are funds identified for it.
“If the development of it is desired and determined to be of merit compared to other transportation needs, Daviess County and Owensboro MPO/GRADD would have to collaborate with KYTC on future development of the connection. This standalone project would require a separate Interchange Justification Study and environmental document before it could be advanced into further project development phases,” according to the report.
(The full report can be found here. Links to other project details including summaries of all meetings can be found here.)
The findings for Section G came after comparing it to other sections of the proposed loop should it not be built in its entirety.
With the information gathered from the public during the month of June, the project team began the Benefit-Cost Analysis of different segments and three came out on top: Segment G, Segment AE (a 1.95 mile route), Segment AF (a 1.70 mile connector) and Segments AE + AF (a combination at totaling 3.65 miles).
Using MPO’s Regional Travel Demand map, they forecasted traffic volumes and for the horizon year of 2045. The graph can be found on page 79 of the report.
When compared to the “no build” option selected by the survey, it was found that Segment G has the best benefit associated with travel time. However, it was also deemed the least beneficial option in yearly benefit. All is detailed on page 80.
As for the overall report, the sections and routes that the project team found were based on differing levels of key factors including usage, safety, environmental impacts, access to community facilities, cost, and bicycle connectivity.
Three different corridors were proposed, all connecting U.S. 60 in the east part of the county to the west part of the county and all with different interchanges.
The Green route was is a 35-mile corridor with an interchange at I-165. The Blue route wass a 30.9-mile corridor with an interchange at the Audubon Parkway. The Red route was a 21.9-mile corridor mixing the two, still connecting U.S. 60 on the east side with U.S. 60 on the west side but with interchanges at I-165 and the Audubon Parkway.
The report details that after presenting the routes to a meeting with local officials and stakeholders in December 2020, KYTC found that the outer loop would be a potential project most importantly tackling safety of transportation and the connectivity around Owensboro, among other factors.
After taking time to review and do some analysis on the land, the project team returned back to the same group of officials and stakeholders in May 2021 and the majority of them agreed on a few facts about the loop: if done, safety was the most important issue; the “Red” path would be the preferred option; and Segment G was selected as a preferred segment.
It was overall deemed needed at a medium rate.
When that meeting concluded, KYTC announced they were seeking public comment in early June. They were met with 2,439 surveys completed by the public from June 4 to July 3.
Through the survey they found that environmental impact was the most important issue, totaling 36.49% of the polls.
Other issues that were noted as important included key words like: homes, family farm, and land impacts. The survey ultimately came back with a 62% majority for “no build” or “none of the above” when asked which route they preferred, if one at all.
Overall, 83% of those surveyed found the need for the outer loop as “low.”
The full responses from the public can be found on Page 75.
