US 23 - VA STATE LINE TO KY 805

State: Kentucky (Letcher County) Agency: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Date: 1995 Length: 2.8 miles Type of Improvement: Field surveys, design study, and final right-of-way and construction plans for a new rural, four-lane highway Construction Cost: $41,182,913

A photograph of the 170-foot cut on the Pine Mountain crossing.

Project Description:
This project was part of the four-laning of US 23 across Eastern Kentucky from the Ohio River to the Virginia State Line. HMB was actually awarded the design contract after completing preliminary studies in 1974. The project, however, was stopped for several years. When the project was restarted, due to the age of the plans, changes were necessary to horizontal and vertical alignments. The new road was designed for four lanes with a 14' flush median and full paved shoulders. This was the first of three sections of US 23 that HMB was contracted to design. This first section presented the most difficult engineering tasks. It required 8 million cubic yards of excavation with 5 million cubic yards of waste. Also, the area was located on a fault that required rock bolts in the cuts near the Virginia State Line. The alignment traversed extremely mountainous terrain, particularly when it crossed Pine Mountain, where the deepest cut was 170 feet. With over a mile of roadway designed at a 7.5% grade, HMB added two truck escape ramps to make the facility safer for anticipated truck traffic. A superelevation of 0.01 ft/ft. on the bypass mainline at the intersection with US 119 required an interchange design where US 119 was carried under the bypass by a 35'x16.5' wagon box. Other structures included in the design were an 8'x8' reinforced concrete box culvert under a 165-foot fill and a Type IV PCI-beam bridge over the Elkhorn Creek and the C&O Railroad. This project was the second largest construction contract ever awarded by the state.