Highway Plan Delivers 6-Year Outlook of Investments for Safe and Promising Future

Friday, January 16, 2026 at 7:58 AM

By Travis Thayer @eagle993

Includes investments in major bi-state projects and safer, more efficient roads and bridges across the commonwealth.

(Frankfort, Ky.) - Governor Andy Beshear and state transportation officials have released their 2026 Recommended Highway Plan.

The plan features more than 1,350 projects in an attempt to build and maintain safer, more efficient roads and bridges throughout the state.

The Governor’s highway plan is a data-informed six-year guide. Funding for the first two years of the plan would be allocated during the 2026 session of the General Assembly.

“Good roads and bridges pave the path to a brighter future for the millions of Kentuckians and businesses who rely on safe, efficient travel to get to work, school, doctor’s appointments and more,” said Gov. Beshear. “When we put politics aside and work for Kentuckians, great things can happen. This plan blends maintenance, improvements and infrastructure across the commonwealth with smart investments that advance bi-state projects to support and attract business.”

The nearly $9.5 billion recommended highway plan is based on anticipated revenues through 2032. It contains $6.4 billion in federal funds, $1.4 billion in required state matching funds, $114 million in local matching funds, $625 million in state construction funding for state priority “SPP” projects, and $40 million of state road funds for the Local Road Assistance Program.

General Fund investments include a balance of $240 million from the $450 million previously allocated for projects in high-growth counties plus General Fund revenues recommended to be made available for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project ($125 million) in Covington.

The plan contains five focus areas:

Fixing Our Roads and Bridges
High-Growth Counties (program developed by the 2024 General Assembly providing general funds for projects in growing communities);
Capacity Improvements (constructing new and improved roads to handle current and future traffic);
Honoring Past Funding Commitments and Supporting Unplanned Bridge and Pavement Needs (“ZVARIOUS” funding category); and
Local Assistance Road Program (state road funded projects approved by the General Assembly to improve county and city roads; formerly known as County Priority Projects Program).

While the plan contains more projects than anticipated available funding can cover, it’s a necessary starting point for KYTC to move forward as many projects as possible, as quickly as possible, in the upcoming biennium.

The plan includes almost $600 million yearly in state and federal funding to address pavement and bridge repairs. Kentucky owns and maintains over 9,000 bridges and over 63,000 lane-miles of pavement.

Some featured projects include investments to (local projects in bold):

Construct the I-69 Ohio River bridge and its approaches between Henderson, Kentucky, and Evansville, Indiana;
Replace the U.S. 51/U.S. 60/U.S. 62 bridge over the Ohio River between Ballard County, Kentucky, and Cairo, Illinois;
Replace three major I-65 bridges in Downtown Louisville;
Continue the widening of I-71 to the KY 393 Interchange in Oldham County;
Complete the Heartland Parkway by widening KY 555 from KY 53 north to the Bluegrass Parkway;
Replace the “Singing Bridge” in downtown Frankfort;
Complete the improvement of U.S. 460 from Russell Cave Road to Georgetown in Bourbon and Scott counties;
Convert KY 18 (Burlington Pike) to a “Super Street” in Boone County;
Begin work to connect the Cumberland Parkway with KY 80 northeast of Somerset in Pulaski County;
Rebuild a portion of KY 32 west of Sandy Hook in Elliott County;
Construct a new interchange on the Hal Rogers Parkway near the Highview Development Site in Perry County;
Provide new access and a bridge from KY 40 to the new Johnson Central High School in Johnson County;
Relocate Town Mountain Road from Pikeville to U.S. 119 in Pike County;
Improve U.S. 25 in Laurel County at London to reduce congestion, including construction of a new KY 192 connector to improve access to a school and the bypass; and
Widening and making safety improvements to U.S. 31 from the Simpson/Warren County line to Buchanon Park.