WHAS11 coverage

Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - Governor Steve Beshear is calling for an end to frivolous highway spending in Kentucky.

Beshear says the bells and whistles on highway projects have to go and no project is immune from the cutbacks, including several big ones in Jefferson County.

The cost of asphalt is going up; gas tax revenue for building roads is going down.   So governor Beshear is promising to review every proposed road project, to do them on the cheap, to try and stretch the limited road construction budget.

Do you like the fancy looks of the proposed east end Ohio River Bridge?  Don’t get excited about it.  How about the proposed tunnel under U.S. 42 leading up to the new bridge?  Don’t get attached to that either.  The scope of the proposed Ohio River Bridges Project may well be cut.

 The Ohio River Bridges Project is one of more than 600 road projects that are being reviewed for potential savings.  The proposed interchange at the Watterson Expressway and Westport road and the widening of I-64 outside the Snyder Freeway are among them.

It’s part of Governor Beshear’s attempt to deal with rising construction costs and a drop in gas tax revenues which pay for Kentucky road projects.

Transportation cabinet engineers say any scaling back of road building won’t affect safety.  It might include cutting a four lane road project down to two lanes or getting rid of some stoplights.

The road contractors would love to see the state raise the gas tax to come up with more money for construction but Beshear says that isn’t going to happen.

Beshear says Kentucky has spent too much, in the past, on building bypasses and wider roads than needed.  He wouldn’t cite any examples but says the new policy is building roads that are smart for taxpayers, not road builders and politicians.