Four lanes from Salyersville to Prestonsburg, officials hold Mountain Parkway expansion meeting

SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials met with the public on Tuesday, providing information on the future Mountain Parkway expansion.

Plans are underway to extend the parkway 13 miles from Salyersville to Prestonsburg, along a new cross-country route.

“The Mountain Parkway is the lifeline of Eastern Kentucky, building a four-lane facility, it’s going to help facilitate job growth, industry is going to be looking at the area,” said Aric Skaggs, Mountain Parkway Expansion Project Manager.

Once completed, the new four lane highway would effectively link Pikeville to Paducah.

KYTC officials hope the improved flow of traffic, both into and and out of Eastern Kentucky, will benefit the region in the long run.

“It’s going to help tourism, and it’s just going to help the ingress and egress of folks in Eastern Kentucky and to get to better healthcare and just be an all around better facility,” said Skaggs.

Still, the proposed route would cross through 13 miles of new land, affecting a large number of landowners.

Johnny Carty currently lives along the proposed route. If it’s accepted, he would lose his home of more than 30 years.

“It’s going to take all of our property away, as the map reads we have 186 acres and it’s going to go through the house, and it’s going to land lock the rest of it,” said Carty.

Still, Carty sees the benefit of the parkway.

“You know, it’s progress. What’re you going to do? We need something in Eastern Kentucky, we need a road in here to get industries down here. Mining and gas is gone, and we got to have something down here,” he said. “Hopefully this will get industries in here again so we can get our economy going again.”

The Mountain Parkway isn’t expected to be complete for six to ten years.

For more information on the project, go here.