HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Magistrates on the Christian County Fiscal Court heard recommendations from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about what road construction projects to prioritize in the upcoming fiscal year. Charlotte Cotton with KYTC District 2 attended the April 22 meeting, sharing an annual update on what secondary roads in the county need the most attention, and the best ways they can implement the budget.

The total allotment for rural secondary roads for the 2025-25 fiscal year is just over $1.4 million, with over $400,000 available in flex funds. Cotton had two recommendations on how to utilize available funds.

The first proposed project would be a four and a half mile stretch of KY 1027 in Pembroke, also known as Long Pond Road, ending at KY 115. This would cost just over $400,000. The second recommendation would be another four mile stretch of road on KY 1026 ending at KY 109 at a similar cost. Both projects would total over eight miles of work, costing around $973,000.

Magistrates are required to vote on whether to absorb the flex funds into the road budget or apply it to a route that she presented as a flex fund alternate. The recommendation for use of the entire flex fund would cover a three-mile rural secondary portion of KY 272, also known as Julien Road in Crofton. Other sections of this road are already due to be paved this year by KYTC.

Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam decided to forward the recommendations from Cotton to the road committee for evaluation before the magistrates vote on how to use the flex fund.

Additional paving projects

Cotton mentioned that outside of these recommendations, KYTC is anticipating that a lot of paving work will soon be tackled in Christian County and Hopkinsville. “We had a very active winter, we had several events, and we did see some roads show great deterioration,” said Cotton. “We will be seeing a much more active year, probably within city limits as well.”

After the presentation, Cotton acknowledged Magistrate Josh Turner’s inquiry about the state of KY 1296, or Empire Road, in Crofton. She clarified that the road would receive some patchwork repairs in mile long stretches, but the entire road will not be repaved for a few more years. Two sections of KY 695 near downtown Hopkinsville around Country Club Lane are also scheduled to be paved this fiscal year, broken up into two projects ending at the bypass.

“The needs far exceed our resources,” Cotton told the magistrates, acknowledging that they do their best to address issues that the public and officials share with the department. She anticipates that no major road widening activities will occur until next year.

Following the presentation, the fiscal court voted to approve the Christian County Road Aid Cooperative Program Agreement, which provides the county with $2.2 million for additional construction costs on county roads, separate from the flex fund.

“This is a significant part of the road budget…this is sort of the heart and soul of our funding source for our roads,” said Gilliam.

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