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Improving our transportation network is one of the most effective ways to promote economic growth and prosperity, and I have worked to ensure that a fair share of federal gasoline tax dollars return to Kentucky.
On August 10, 2005, President Bush signed legislation into law that reauthorizes and funds America’s surface transportation programs for the next five years. The bill, commonly referred to as SAFETEA-LU, provided nearly $3.5 billion for Kentucky’s road, highway, bridge, and other transportation needs. Congress is currently in the process of re-authorizing this important legislation, which provides a unique opportunity to utilize federal funds to support vital transportation projects around the Commonwealth. I have requested that Congress include funding for these important projects in the fifth congressional district, which will increase safety and mobility, promote economic development and create jobs across the region.
Nowhere is the need for new roads more apparent than southern and eastern Kentucky, where people have been isolated from the rest of the Commonwealth and the nation for far too long. As a member of the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I have helped direct $100 million in funding for Kentucky’s Appalachian Highways over the years. These dollars are helping transform several roads – such as the once deadly and treacherous section of U.S. 119 over Pine Mountain in Letcher County – into safe, modern highways.
I am also a chief advocate of Interstate 66, which will provide Kentuckians with a new east-west highway stretching from the coal fields of eastern Kentucky to the corn fields of western Kentucky. I-66 will provide our citizens with better access to health care, open our communities to tourists and travel dollars, and provide additional supply lines for the new businesses we are working to attract. The highway will also improve safety for people traveling in and around the area.
By working together with federal, state, and local officials, we have made numerous improvements to our transportation infrastructure. In 1996, after more than two decades of work, the $280 million Cumberland Gap Tunnels opened to a great celebration. The twin tunnels now safely carry thousands of cars along U.S. 25E between Kentucky and Tennessee each day, and have opened up the region to tourists and new businesses.
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