Legislative Priority Submission: Support for continued development of Interstate 69

Submitted by: The Public Issues Committee of the Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce

(Pictured above, from left: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Interstate 69 Project Manager Ted Merryman at the unveiling of the I-69 shields in Hopkins County, October 25, 2011.)

The Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce is a member of Chamber Leadership Initiatives for Northwestern Kentucky, or C-LINK, a group of 12 chambers of commerce representing communities in 10 Northwest Kentucky counties. The other counties are Breckinridge, Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union and Webster.

C-LINK's current focus is on the completion of Kentucky's portion of Interstate 69, whose projected path extends from Michigan to Texas. Southbound I-69 traffic will enter Kentucky at Henderson and exit in Fulton. The Pennyrile, Western Kentucky, and Purchase parkways will be upgraded to interstate standards and become part of I-69. In October, 55 miles of parkway were officially designated as I-69, including 38 miles of the Wendell Ford/Western Kentucky Parkway beginning at the interchange with the Pennyrile Parkway in Hopkins County.

Key to the I-69 project will be the building of a new bridge spanning the Ohio River between Henderson County and Vanderburgh County in Indiana, and construction of a 10-mile stretch of connector highway around Henderson between the bridge and the Pennyrile Parkway.

The Public Issues Committee of the Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce recommends that I-69 be placed in a priority status when considering the 2012 Chamber Legislative Agenda.

For more information about C-LINK, please go to www.Buildi69-ky.com.

For further information, please contact Joe Miller, Chairman, Public Issues Committee, jrmiller@trover.org or 825.5784.