HELECHAWA, Ky. (LEX News) — An expansion project widening 32 miles of the Mountain Parkway in Eastern Kentucky is now complete.
Today Gov. Andy Beshear and former Gov. Steve Beshear joined local, state, and federal leaders to cut the ribbon on the Wolfe County section of the project. The project made the Mountain Parkway a four-lane road between Campton and Salyersville.
Officials hope this will better connect Eastern communities to jobs, schools, healthcare, and future economic growth opportunities.
“Team Kentucky is proud to mark another milestone in this project that Kentuckians have been waiting half a century to see come to life,” Gov. Beshear said. “This took a tremendous amount of work, and the end result means we have taken another step forward in making it safer, easier and faster for families to live, learn, work and connect across Eastern Kentucky.”
The project broke ground in Wolfe County in 2022. At the time, it expanded 11 miles of the road in Wolfe County and reconstructed two interchanges. Overall, the project cost nearly $100 million, including a $55 million federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant.
While the Wolfe County section is now complete, a 13-mile section of the Mountain Parkway is still being expanded in Magoffin and Floyd Counties. Gov. Beshear broke ground on that section in 2025.
The Magoffin-Floyd expansion will also include a new four-lane connection from Salyersville to Kentucky Highway 114 near Prestonsburg. Construction crews say they will need to move approximately 30 million cubic yards of land for the project, making it one of the largest excavation projects in Commonwealth history. Due to the size of the project, the Mountain Parkway expansion is not expected to be completed in all counties for several years.
“The Mountain Parkway Expansion is not only a 45-mile project through Magoffin, Floyd, Morgan and Wolfe counties; it is a grand opening to Kentucky’s Appalachian region, interlocking a 400-mile corridor across the commonwealth that will spur economic development and industrial opportunities for generations to come,” said U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers. “The expansion on Restaurant Row in Salyersville is also a reflection of the resilience of our region, proving once again, that we will continue to thrive through every storm and rebuild stronger than ever before. I was proud to work with our state and local leaders to secure federal funding for this project over the last decade to ensure construction moved forward through every segment. I celebrate with the people of Eastern Kentucky and applaud every construction worker, project manager and engineer who got the job done.”
“This is a transformational transportation corridor for Eastern Kentucky,” said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman. “We are honored to be providing Kentuckians with the modern corridor they deserve while making it easier and safer for people from the commonwealth and beyond to benefit from all that Eastern Kentucky has to offer.”
Officials say this key transportation project is designed to close the only 400-mile gap in a four-lane, high-speed corridor connecting Pikeville to Paducah. The parkway will ultimately gain an additional 13 miles when it gets connected to Prestonsburg.
Below is an estimated timeline on when project segments are expected to be completed.
- Wolfe County | 11 miles | August 2022 – 2026
- Morgan County | 8.2 miles | 2017-2021
- Magoffin County West | 4.6 miles | 2019 – 2025
- Magoffin County Central | 5.7 miles | 2015-2018
- Salyersville Restaurant Row | 2.4 miles | 2016-2019
- Magoffin-Floyd | 13 miles | 2025-2032
