West end: I-65 in Elizabethtown Length 114.5 km | East end: US 60 near Versailles | |
Counties Hardin County, Kentucky, Nelson County, Kentucky Major cities Bardstown, Elizabethtown, Versailles | ||
The Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Woodford County, Kentucky, for a length of 71.134 miles (114.479 km). It intersects with Interstate 65 at its western terminus, and U.S. Route 60 at its eastern terminus. It is one of nine highways that are part of the Kentucky parkway system. The road is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9002 (BG 9002). It is constructed similar to the Interstate Highway system, though sections do not measure up to current Interstate standards.
Contents
- Map of Bluegrass Pkwy Kentucky USA
- Bluegrass parkway with mike compton at the 2013 national folk festival canberra
- History
- Route description
- Interstate 64
- References
Map of Bluegrass Pkwy, Kentucky, USA
Bluegrass parkway with mike compton at the 2013 national folk festival canberra
History
In 2003, the road was renamed in honor of Martha Layne Collins, the first female governor of Kentucky. Previously, it was simply the Blue Grass Parkway (sometimes with "Bluegrass" as one word, though in the highway's name, it was officially two words), and often called the "BG Parkway" because of the abbreviation used on its signs.
The parkway was opened in November 1965 and was originally a toll road, as were all Kentucky parkways. The parkway route largely parallels that of U.S. Route 62. State law requires that toll collection ceases when enough tolls are collected to pay off the parkway's construction bonds; that occurred in 1991.
Route description
The parkway passes the cities of Bardstown, Harrodsburg, and Versailles. The toll plazas were located at (from west to east):
Interstate 64
No connection to Interstate 64 was planned as it had not been constructed and would not open until the late 1970s.
By the time the road opened, however, it was renamed the Bluegrass Parkway. There have been talks for a direct connection from the eastern terminus of the parkway at US 60 to Interstate 64, but all have failed. Such a connection would almost certainly draw enormous opposition in the Lexington area due to the many horse farms that would be adversely affected; the thoroughbred breeding industry is an important direct employer and a major tourist draw in the region.