Since 1929, when the railroad bridge at Woodman was built, two arched underpasses formed a bridge over Ky. Route 2059. The creek ran through one underpass. Traffic used the other one, which meant that “to get there from here” you had to drive through the one-lane underpass right next to the waters of Turkey Creek just a few feet from where it joins Knox Creek. The least amount of rain caused the creek to cover the road.
Plus, the vertical clearance is only about 10 feet. School buses can’t get through. Snow plows can’t get through, and coal trucks certainly cannot get through.
“We’re going to be doing some mining in the area,” Cox explained. “Our trucks could go the other way, toward Freeburn, cutting off onto Ky. Route 194 just before McCarr, and then back to Phelps, but it’s about three times as many miles. The bypass we built is only about 900 feet long, but it cuts the trip by thirty to forty-five minutes.
Cox said that the bypass is two 12-foot lanes with shoulders on each side.
“This not only reduces driving time, it enhances safety for everyone, the community, school buses, state trucks, not just our vehicles,” he explained.
Rick Slone, former maintenance superintendent for Highway District 12, said the company easily spent $350,000 on the project, which Cox confirmed.
“I tried since about 1990 to get this done,” Slone said, “but it involved acquiring right of way and the daily traffic on the road didn’t justify the cost (to the state).”
Slone retired December 31, 2008, but not before this long-awaited improvement was finished. He described it as a “win-win,” pointing out that the underpass was not designed to be a road.
Dean Childress, engineering supervisor for Clintwood Elkhorn, said the company intends to go back into the area and do some mining in the future. TECO bought what was Race Fork Mining in 1999, and has determined that there “appears to be some mining opportunities there,” Child-ress said.
Ky. Route 2059 and its companion road, Ky. Route 2062, are about as far east as you can get and still be in Kentucky. In fact, Ky. Route 2059 continues northeast until it meets Ky. Route 292, which follows the border between Kentucky and its neighbors to the north and east, West Virginia and Virginia.
To get to the new bypass, turn right off Ky. Route 632 at Phelps onto Ky. Route 194 E, then left onto Ky. Route 2062, the DeWitt Furrow Highway (which used to be called Widow’s Branch). Make a right when Ky. Route 2062 deadends into Ky. Route 194 at Stopover. Look for Shep-herd Memorial Presbyterian Church on your left. Just past the church, turn left onto Ky. Route 2059. The railroad bridge and the new bypass road are about two-tenths of a mile from the turnoff.
District 12 Chief Kevin Damron described Clint-wood Elkhorn’s contribution as a great example of a public-private partnership.
“To say the Transpor-tation Cabinet operates right now on a lean budget is an understatement,” Damron pointed out. “When we are trying to develop practical solutions to road improvement challenges, we need to look for more opportunities to work with the mining companies in our seven-county district. Clintwood Elkhorn needed a faster way to get their coal to market. They were willing to invest money to make that happen and we agreed to accept the road into the state system for maintenance purposes. As Rick Slone said, it is a ‘win-win.’ We are grateful to TECO and Clintwood Elkhorn and proud to partner with them on what is an enormous safety and convenience improvement for the folks who use this road.”
Post a Comment
