Mountain Parkway Construction Progress Bringing Traffic Switches

Three of four lanes will be open in Gifford Road area of project

SALYERSVILLE, Ky. (November 11, 2016) – Motorists traveling the Mountain Parkway west of Salyersville will follow a new traffic pattern starting Friday as construction crews separate eastbound and westbound traffic onto the newly divided parkway.

Eastbound traffic will move onto two new lanes, between mile points 69 and 72 of the Mountain Parkway. One lane will be open to westbound traffic while construction crews complete paving and striping on that side of the expanded parkway, near the new Gifford Road interchange.

Speed limits have been reduced in the area, and signs will be posted to alert drivers of the changes.

“This is a significant improvement for the parkway,” said Marshall Carrier, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s project manager for the Mountain Parkway Expansion. “Dividing eastbound and westbound traffic is one example of the major changes we’re making all along the Mountain Parkway to make it safer and more convenient for travelers in Eastern Kentucky.”

About the Mountain Parkway Expansion

The Mountain Parkway Expansion is a 46-mile transportation improvement project that will create a wider, safer connection between Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the Commonwealth. It is a key transportation project designed to close the only gap in a 400-mile, four-lane, high-speed corridor for commerce and mobility across Kentucky from Pikeville to Paducah. The project will widen 30 miles of the existing parkway to four lanes and extend the parkway by about 16 miles between Salyersville and Prestonsburg.