PADUCAH, Ky. (Aug. 22, 2019) — As a reminder, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), is hosting a public hearing tonight, to seek public comments on the reconstruction of U.S. 641 in southern Calloway County between Murray, Ky., and Hazel, Ky. The meeting is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CDT at the Hazel Baptist Church located at 301 Gilbert Street in Hazel, Kentucky.
The Kentucky portion of the project area runs from the Clarks River Bridge, just south of Murray, to the Kentucky-Tennessee State Line at Hazel. The Environmental Assessment extends on southward into Tennessee to near the Howard Road intersection. During the hearing, the public will have an opportunity to review alternatives studied as well as the route identified as the preferred alternate in Kentucky.
The public hearing is primarily to seek public input on the environmental assessment document for the project and provide additional direction on the final design process along the Kentucky section. Residents along the corridor and motorists who travel this section of U.S. 641 are encouraged to attend.
Displays will be available for public review in the church gymnasium from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. A brief presentation will begin at 6 p.m. in the church sanctuary about the preferred Kentucky alternative, which runs primarily west of the existing U.S. 641 corridor.
Citizens may offer oral or written comments about the project and the environmental assessment at the conclusion of the presentation. Citizens who wish to provide comments publicly will be asked to sign in. A court reporter will record all public statements and will be available for recording statements of anyone who does not wish to speak publicly.
Representatives from KYTC and TDOT will be available to discuss the information presented and to answer questions. KYTC staff will also be available to discuss other issues of interest, including right-of-way acquisition in Kentucky.
The Calloway County Fiscal Court was awarded a $23 million federal BUILD Grant for the reconstruction and widening of U.S. 641 from the Kentucky-Tennessee line to the Clarks River Bridge south of Murray, Ky. The existing two-lane roadway will be widened to a new four-lane highway that meets current design standards. A preferred alternate has been chosen that runs generally west of the existing U.S. 641.
The Kentucky portion of the project is expected to be bid for construction in the fall of 2020. Reconstruction of the corridor will provide a critical transportation link by connecting Murray/Calloway County to Paris, Tn, and Interstate 40 on to the south.
A five-lane urban section of new construction to improve about a one-mile section of U.S. 641 immediately at the south edge of Murray is expected to be ready for construction bids this fall. The section runs from U.S. 641-Business/Glendale Road at the south edge of Murray extending southward to the Middle Fork Clarks River Bridge.
Approximately 6,000 vehicles travel the section of U.S. 641 between Murray and Hazel in an average day.