The Lebanon Enterprise
By Chris Hamilton
Landmark News
Service
Unlike many who attended
a meeting with the Heartland
Parkway Alternatives Study
team Wednesday, John Wagner
believes Option 1, a new
highway connecting the
Martha Layne Collins Blue
Grass Parkway to the Louie
B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway,
is the best future for
widespread access to Lebanon
and Marion County.
Wagner and his wife,
Elizabeth, have followed the
topic since the Heartland
Parkway first hit the "what
if" drawing board. He, like
many of the more than 50
people who crowded into
Lebanon City Hall to learn
more about the project,
believes central Kentucky
could use better roads.
And like each of those
who asked questions or
completed surveys, he has an
opinion.
"What it comes down to
is what do we need," he said
after the meeting. "When you
look at how you're going to
move goods and people,
there's no doubt you have to
have good roads."
But whether the
Heartland Parkway is a new
road or an upgraded version
of KY 55/U.S. 68/KY 555,
Wagner believes the answer
is clear.
He thinks the notion
that the traffic needs to
come close to town, as
Options 2 and 3 would have
it, to bring people into the
community is shortsighted.
"It really is an
old-fashioned concept," he
said. "As one of my
neighbors said, 'You can't
force people to come to
Lebanon. You have to attract
them ...' I hope we have a
bigger vision about where we
are going."
Besides, he said, Option
1 would be a mere 2 miles
away, not a significant
distance away from town.
Plus, he said, the proposed
North Lebanon Bypass would
become a bottleneck along
the parkway because it has
been planned as a two-lane
road, not a divided
four-lane.
While he's not alone,
Wagner is in the minority.
In the study team's last
survey, 77 percent of the
respondents were in favor of
a reconstructed KY 55/U.S.
68/KY 555. Only 8 percent
were in favor of a new
route.
Nearly all respondents
(86 percent) were in favor
of a divided four-lane
although some wanted access
to the road only at major
interchanges.
At Wednesday's meeting,
Ted Noe of the Kentucky
Department of
Transportation's Division of
Planning said the
information gathered there
would be added to
information that was already
available. Each person was
given a packet of
information and a map that
outlined the three options
for construction of the
parkway.
Option 1 would create a
new road, similar to the
interstate system, nearly
two miles to the west of the
existing route along KY
55/U.S. 68/KY 555.
Option 2 would widen KY
55/U.S. 68/KY 555 route into
a divided four-lane road
that would be designated the
Heartland Parkway.
Option 3 would keep a
two-lane road but passing
lanes would be added every
three miles on existing KY
55/U.S. 68/KY 555.
Marty Marchaterre of
T.H.E. Engineers, Inc. said
environmental issues were
taken into consideration
when developing the options.
He said the impact to
Willisburg Lake at the
northern end and Green River
Lake at the southern end
played a large role in the
design and location, and
researchers also took into
consideration historical
sites and cemeteries, to
name a few.
John Brown of T.H.E.
said researchers also looked
at the "human impact" of the
parkway and its options.
"We found out some
interesting things about
Marion County and what this
would mean," he said.
Brown said researchers
studied factors such as
population, infrastructure
and labor availability. They
found that 22.5 percent of
workers in Marion County
commute into the community
for jobs but 33 percent
commute out.
The parkway would
provide "economic
sustainability" because the
"roadway would provide
access from the interstate
for trucks," Brown said.
He said that social
impact was also considered
such as the need for
portions of some communities
to not be disrupted.
Dan Byers, a consulting
engineer with W.M.B. Inc.,
said the advantages of
Options 2 and 3 were that
once any work was completed,
the road could be used. With
Option 1, he said, half
would need to be completed
before it would be of any
use at all.
Byers said he was not
lobbying for a particular
option but he pointed out
that Options 2 and 3 could
be piecemealed, that is,
some portions of the road
could be a divided
four-lane, as described in
Option 2, and other portions
could remain two-lane with
passing lanes at certain
intervals, as described in
Option 3.
Byers said that if
Option 3 alone were chosen,
then "there would be some
major pavement rehab."
Some members of the
audience made it clear that
they supported Option 2.
Monday, the Lebanon City
Council approved a
resolution endorsing Option
2 and the Lebanon-Marion
County Chamber of Commerce
voted to adopt a resolution
supporting Option 2 on
Thursday.
However, at Wednesday's
meeting, Ken Porter, general
manager of administration at
TG Kentucky, said the
community should not
completely discount Option
1. Porter said Option 1
would be the fastest, safest
route and would make people
in nearby workforces
consider coming to Lebanon
and Marion County for
employment.
"I think we need to
consider every option for
every reason," he said. "I
don't think we want to close
off Option 1 that easily."
Members of the study
team have been gathering
information from the public
and federal, state and local
agencies to discover which
option people prefer.
Through its research,
the team plans to identify
project needs, the goals of
those people who have an
interest in it,
environmental concerns and
concerns of the public.