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By Jennifer McDaniels

For the Enterprise

Representatives with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet held a public meeting in Harlan Thursday night to update residents on the long-awaited U.S. 421 reconstruction project that is anticipated to start by fall. 

Over two decades in the making with several Harlan Countians through the years advocating for the road because of safety concerns and desires to see it pave the way for increased economic opportunities, the U.S. 421 road project was revived by Governor Andy Beshear last year when he allocated $26.4 million in his state Recommended Highway Plan.

The U.S. 421 road project includes a new alignment from the Virginia line to mile point 1.5 south of Cranks. It removes the switchback curve on Cranks Mountain, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous sections of the highway. 

Naitore Djigbenou of the Kentucky State Government Office Of Public Affairs told The Harlan Enterprise that the Transportation Cabinet is currently finalizing the design of the new portion of highway, beginning the right-of-way acquisition process, and working on environmental permitting. She said those activities will frame the construction timeline currently targeted for this fall. 

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Chief District Engineer Chris Jones said he was excited to see the badly needed road project revived.

“I am appreciative of Governor Beshear to continue to prioritize this project and provide the needed funding to complete this section of highway to increase safety and mobility and open the region for potential economic development,” Jones said. “I would also like to thank our Kentucky Transportation Cabinet project team and our design-build team of HMB Consulting and Bizzack Construction for their many hours they have worked to make this long-awaited project a reality.” 

Jones said attendees of Thursday night’s U.S. 421 Public meeting, which was held at the Harlan Campus of Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College, were generally pleased with the project. He said that included property owners along the roadway as well as those who travel the road. 

“Some positive comments we received included the much-needed truck climbing lanes and elimination of the horse curve at Garrett Hollow,” he said. “Everyone was glad to see the project moving forward and looked forward to the start of construction.”

Robert Leo Miller, who was appointed by the governor last year to fill the District 1 seat on Harlan County Fiscal Court before the special election occurring in November, was another U.S. 421 public meeting attendee who was impressed with the highway reconstruction plans he saw. He reviewed maps with Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley and District 4 Magistrate Jim Roddy at the public meeting, saying the scope of the project was a tremendous investment by the governor to Harlan County. Miller is one of several who have fought for the road over the last 20 years.

“It’s a huge project for Harlan County and all of the state,” Miller said. “This is going to give us access to the Tri-Cities, get tourism in here, and be a significant improvement with safety. Jim (Roddy) knows how many folks have unfortunately died on that road and the accidents that have been on that road, so it’s exciting to see the amount of work being put into Harlan County, the funds that are going to come here, what it will do for our communities and the people, and the work that will also come here. 

“It just shows that more investment is being made here. There’s a lot of positivity in Harlan County, now, and this will just be another success that may have taken a long time, but thanks to Governor Beshear, it’s become a priority again. I also look forward to (Kentucky 29th District) Senator Johnnie Turner and (Kentucky 87th District) Representative Adam Bowling continuing the work on this in the years to come.”

Roddy, whose magisterial district is where the U.S. 422 project is taking place, said he was “tickled to death” with the plans that state representatives shared with him at the public meeting. Roddy said the public meeting marked the beginning of a new day for his district in terms of making the major highway in his area safe for travel. The accidents that have occurred on the trek of U.S. 421 that will soon be reconstructed have been too numerous, according to Roddy, who stated even he had wrecked on the road.

“I’m tickled to death that the governor is making this happen finally,” Roddy said. “A lot of people have complained about this highway through the years, but everybody should be happy today. That mountain on the highway has long been a burden, but this new road will take the traffic off of it. I know some people are still saying they don’t believe it’s going to happen, but it really is, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Jones explained to the press during the public forum meeting that the U.S. 421 highway project in Harlan County would be carried out in a unique way in order to expedite its completion. A process known as progressive design build was selected as the delivery method for the project, and according to state officials, U.S. 421 is one of the first projects in the state to use this approach.

“Simply put, this approach boosts collaboration for the consultant contractor team during the design process, promotes innovation, and responsively stewards taxpayer dollars to deliver the project,” Djigbenou told The Harlan Enterprise.

The new section of highway will have a 40 mph design speed with 11-foot lanes. In addition, the project adds a truck climbing lane and turn lanes at major approach roads. Safety benefits include an improved clear zone adjacent to the road, better horizontal and vertical alignments, and improved sight distance along the road and at intersections. All of this will help increase safety and mobility throughout the project corridor, state transportation officials say.

Mosley said it was “a win” to get the U.S. 421 highway project started back. Not only did he credit the governor for reviving it, he also gave credit to past project proponents such as the late Gayle Lawson, who used to be active with the Harlan County Chamber Of Commerce and was a retired educator turned road advocate. Mosley said a good number of people, like Lawson, were relentless in their pursuits to see the new highway happen. 

After reviewing the plans, Mosley said he was pleased to see the project would be starting at the Virginia line and progressing through the county to Barn Branch. Mosley said the realignment plans takes the road off its existing route, which includes the mountain at Cranks, and will eliminate the most dangerous portion of the highway first.

“This is very good news to hear,” Mosley said. “This is going to improve the overall safety aspect tremendously. We get a lot of tourism traffic, too. A lot of people haul their big rigs in here to ride the off-road park in addition to the commercial vehicle traffic we see. That’s why I’m excited to see this project get established – number one for safety, but number two and three for economic and tourism benefits. We certainly appreciate Governor Beshear and the legislature for appropriating funds to get this highway where it needs to be.”

Mosley explained that former Kentucky Governor Paul Patton first had designated the money for the U.S. 421 highway reconstruction project, but that the funding got diverted to other counties during previous gubernatorial administrations. Mosley said it had been a long fight by many local people to see the project get put back in the funding cycle, and that he was happy to see this day occurring for his county.

“When I talk to legislative leadership and transportation folk, I always say it’s really something that we shouldn’t have to put on our ask list, because it should have already been done 20 years ago,” Mosley said. “But, thankfully, it is resuming. This is real. It wasn’t just a promise. This is a real thing that is happening and it’s much needed.”

Another member of the community who is excited to see the U.S. 421 project finally come to fruition is Harlan County Economic Development Authority Chairman Pete Cornett. He was among the attendees at Thursday’s public forum who met with state transportation officials, asked questions, and reviewed the many road project maps that were set up in the college’s auditorium.

 “As Chairman of the Harlan County Economic Development Authority, I have heard time after time from prospective businesses that roads and infrastructure are the biggest setback preventing them from relocating to this area,” Cornett said. “This road was brought to Governor Beshear’s attention during his first campaign for governor. In October of 2019, he was quoted in a local newspaper saying he would ‘finish’ this highway if elected. I am glad to see that he has been a man of his word and we are finally seeing this project come to fruition.”

Cornett said the completion of U.S. 421 to the Virginia line will allow residents easier access to the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee for work and shopping, as well as easier access for commercial vehicles and tourists traveling into Harlan County. 

“This project is a step in the right direction for this county and our future economic development. I would like to thank Governor Beshear, Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley, our State Representative Adam Bowling, Senator Johnnie L Turner and the Harlan County Fiscal Court for helping secure the funding for this project and listening to the needs of Harlan Countians and the Harlan County Economic Development Authority.”

Another longtime advocate for U.S. 421 road reconstruction is former Harlan Enterprise managing editor John Henson, who has been vocal about the need for new highways in Harlan County. He also attended Thursday’s public meeting.

“Even though it has taken much longer than we hoped to complete, any stretch of new highway is great news for Harlan County, especially when it takes out one of the most dangerous sections of U.S. 421 over the mountain into Virginia,” Henson said. “No county in Kentucky has been left behind like Harlan County when it comes to road needs through the decades. It has almost certainly played a role in our lack of growth and economic development over the years.”

Beshear, who has made transportation safety and modernization a top priority of his administration and a key to economic development, said last March when he announced the U.S. 421 project funding that it was crucial to not only make rural routes safe, but to also open them up for good jobs.

“Completion of this 1.5-mile-long stretch will bring us very near to completing the larger and long-awaited U.S. 421 expansion project from Grays Knob to the Virginia line,” Beshear said.