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Legislative Watch
LEGISLATIVE

Kentucky

3/1/04-Gov. Ernie Fletcher delivered his six-year transportation plan to state lawmakers Feb. 18.
The governor’s plan earmarks nearly $5 billion on transportation projects that include building two bridges across the Ohio River in Louisville and widening three of the interstates that crisscross the state.
The plan includes $4.5 billion in federally funded projects such as widening portions of interstates 64, 65 and 75, plus another $460 million in state funding for other roads.
Transportation Secretary Maxwell Clay Bailey told state legislators that no projects included in the state’s 2002 highway plan have been cut from the new plan. Bailey did say, however, that some projects would be delayed because the state has only a fraction of the money it needs to build them all.
The six-year plan, which sets transportation priorities, is updated every two years. The plan historically has contained more projects than the state has money to fund. The new plan is no different.
Bailey said he and the transportation cabinet would decide which projects would receive funding to continue. He added that the state anticipates it will receive enough money from the federal government to largely cover the $4.5 billion in federal projects listed in the highway plan.
Those projects include $118 million allocated for the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, which will build two new bridges while rebuilding Spaghetti Junction where interstates 64, 65 and 71 meet near downtown.
Fletcher said by issuing Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonds to pay for those three interstate projects, the state will be able to shuffle federal project money to the bridges.
The bonds allow states to borrow money and pay back the debt with future federal transportation revenue. The Legislature must first pass a bill authorizing the state to issue such bonds. That bill – HB395 – is pending.

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