Governor Andy Beshear announced a BUILD grant to help with bridge improves on U.S. 79 in Todd and Logan counties Tuesday afternoon.
Beshear says the grant of $13.5 million will help fund the replacement of four bridges on U.S. 79 between Russellville, in Logan County, and Guthrie, in Todd County. He says the improvements will greatly facilitate shipments of aluminum between the Novelis automotive aluminum plant in Guthrie and Logan Aluminum in Russellville.
The new bridges will have 12-foot-wide travel lanes and 10-foot-wide shoulders to better accommodate truck and agricultural traffic. The project will also include the realignment of the highway’s intersection with Kentucky 346. The improvements will allow for U.S. 79 to be considered for addition to the National Truck Network (NTN) and for over-dimensional (STAA) trucks.
The grant covers 80% of the total project cost of nearly $16.9 million. The KYTC will provide $2.7 million in state matching funds, while Logan and Todd counties will each provide $300,000.
The BUILD Grant comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development”.
