KYTC Seeking Input on Public Participation Plan

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet would like your input on the "Public Participation Plan for Statewide Transportation Planning: Interested Parties, Public Involvement and Consultation" document, which is currently being updated.

Public review will run through November 15. Copies of the document at available here in the KIPDA office, 11520 Commonwealth Drive, Louisville, KY 40299 as well as the KYTC District office, 8310 Westport Road, Louisville, KY 40242 and the KYTC Central Office, 200 Mero St., in Frankfort. The document is also available online at http://transportation.ky.gov/yourturn/Pages/yourturn.aspx.

A CD-ROM or a printed copy is also available by request. For special accommodations or additional information, call (502) 564-7183.

To provide comments about the plan, send them to:

Steve Waddle, P.E. State Highway Engineer
Department of Highways
Transportation Cabinet Office Building, 6th Floor
200 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40622

or email kytc.ppp@ky.gov

TARC offer rides to St. James Fair October 4-6

Are you planning to go down to the St. James Court Art Show? If so, you might consider using TARC to get to your destination.

 

TARC is partnering with PARC once again to offer convenient public transportation from downtown Louisville to the St. James Court Art Show, which will be held Oct. 4-6.

TARC’s buses will leave PARC’s Brown Hotel garage on Third at Broadway every 15 minutes on October 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will run every 10 minutes on October 5-6. Route will run on October 5 from 9:30 a.m.-6:10 p.m. and October 6 from 9:30 a.m.-5:10 p.m. The buses will deliver passengers to Second and Hill for a short walk to the St. James Court Art Show.

 

The cost for the ride is $6 per carload, which covers parking at the Brown Hotel garage and the bus service. Before boarding the bus, patrons will be issued a pass that will guarantee them return service to the garage - and are urged to hold onto those passes while at the fair.

Art show patrons can also ride the fare-free trolleys downtown. The Fourth Street Trolley will connect visitors with the First Friday Trolley Hop on Main and Market Streets, Fourth Street Live and other downtown entertainment venues on Friday, Oct. 4.

Passengers may also board buses to and from the art fair at any stop along the route, including an additional stop at 2nd and Breckinridge and another at 2nd and Hill. The fare for passengers boarding along the route is $1.75.

Routes #2, #4 and #27 serve stops near the festival area.

For further information about the St. James bus service, call TARC Customer Service at 585-1234, TTY 213-3240, or visit TARC’s website at www.ridetarc.org.

TARC seeking input on Title VI, open houses today and tomorrow

TARC is seeking public comments on a draft Title VI program update for fair and equitable transportation services and amenities. The comment deadline is September 17.

In addition, TARC is hosting two open houses on the update. The open houses are noon-5 p.m. today at TARC, 1000 W. Broadway and 4-7 p.m. tomorrow at the NIA Center, 2900 W. Broadway. Residents can access TARC service to the meeting at TARC via Route #23 and to the NIA Center via #19, #21, #23 and #25.

The Title VI draft program is available on the TARC website at www.ridetarc.org.

Tolling Body will Meet Tomorrow

The Kentucky-Indiana Tolling Body, created pursuant to a Bi-State Development Agreement and Interlocal Cooperation Agreement, will hold a public meeting on tomorrow, September 5, at 11 a.m. EDT at the Sheraton Louisville Riverside Hotel, 700 W. Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville.

The agenda for the meeting includes: consideration of Resolution JB-2013-1 (Resolution of Tolling Body  approving and adopting Bylaws and designating a regular meeting schedule), consideration of Resolution JB-2013-2 (Resolution of tolling body setting initial toll rates in accordance with the Toll Rate Covenants established in the Development Agreement) and other matters to be considered by the body.

 

 

KIPDA Staff Member Honored By Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement (JA) recently recognized Josh Suiter, Community Outreach Specialist at KIPDA, with the John L. Helm Starfish Flinger Award. The award is presented to JA volunteers for their service to the youth in our community and to JA.

Suiter, who has volunteered in area elementary and high schools, has been a volunteer since 2010. He has volunteered at Zachary Taylor, Middletown, Bowen and Grant Line elementary schools and Jeffersontown and Moore high schools. In the elementary schools, he has taught the "Our City" curriculum, which covers the planning process in our community with regarding to zoning laws.

The award includes a copy of the parable "The Starfish Flinger" and a starfish medallion.

East End Crossing of Bridges Project and Others Honored at Annual Conference

During the recent American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) Annual P3 Conference in Washington, D.C., the East End Crossing of The Ohio River Bridges Project, along with two individuals instrumental in creating the project’s public-private partnership (P3) finance and construction model were honored.

P3 refers to a contractual agreement between a public agency and a private sector entity that allows the private sector entity to have greater participation in the delivery of a transportation project.  Under a P3, the private partner takes on some or all of the project's risks and responsibilities.

During a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History the ARTBA named the East End Crossing P3 “Project of the Year.”  In addition, Kendra York, Indiana Public Finance Director, and Matt Walsh, CEO and co-chair of Chicago-based Walsh Group, were respectively named public sector and private sector “Entrepreneur of the Year.” 

York led IFA’s efficient eight-month P3 procurement process for the East End Crossing, which resulted in the selection of WVB East End Partners – a consortium of regional, national and international firms that will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the crossing. 

Walsh led his family-owned business through that procurement process, playing a key role in establishing the selected consortium of Walsh Investors LLC, Vinci Concessions, and Bilfinger Project Investments.

As Project of the Year, the East End Crossing was recognized for exemplifying the value of P3s in the United States.  The massive and nationally recognized project was initiated to help improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, connect highways and create new economic development opportunities.  The East End Crossing will connect southern Indiana and Louisville, and will include a 2,510-foot cable-stayed bridge across the Ohio River, a 1,700-foot twin-bore tunnel, 19 additional bridges and other infrastructure improvements.  The East End Crossing is “a prime example of P3s in practice,” according to an ARTBA news release. 

York, in guiding the East End Crossing procurement efforts, was saluted for her dedication to the P3 model as a way to provide high-quality transportation infrastructure options at a lower investment cost to taxpayers.  Under her leadership, the construction cost will be about $763 million – about $224 million or 23 percent less than the project estimate of $978 million.

The ARTBA, founded in 1902, is based in Washington, D.C., and represents the U.S. transportation design and construction industry.

KYTC Installing Rumble Strips on Area Highways

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Highways has announced that rumble strips will be installed this week on five highways in District 5, which includes Jefferson, Bullitt and Oldham counties.

The strips help reduce roadway departure crashes and are used across the county. A $500,000 contract was awarded this summer to install the strips along the centerlines or shoulders of highways in 14 central Kentucky counties.

The strips in the District 5 area include:

• Bullitt County: KY 44 from the Jefferson/Bullitt county line to Old Pitts Point Road.
• Franklin County: From KY 1900 to the Franklin/Owen County line.
• Jefferson County: From KY 148 to New Hopewell Road.
• Jefferson County: I-265 from mile points 30.0 to 35.0
• Spencer County: KY 55 to the Jefferson/Spencer County Line.