Beaver Dam Rest Stop

The Finance Cabinet has issued the press release copied below below calling for proposals from interested vendors to operate the beloved Beaver Dam rest area.  The prior vendor reportedly didn't turn in a complete proposal and their contract has lapsed.

If you have a business willing to take over this treasured rest area along the WK Parkway, please note the approaching deadlines!

New Operator Sought for Beaver Dam Service Area in Western Kentucky

Finance Cabinet issues new request for proposal, responses due March 8

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 19, 2017) - The Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet’s Department for Facilities and Support Services has issued a new request for proposals (RFP) for the now closed Beaver Dam Service Area site located at mile marker 75 on the Wendell Ford-Western Kentucky Parkway.  

This RFP, issued on behalf of the Transportation Cabinet, is due to the previous lease expiring and the Finance Cabinet not receiving responsive proposals to an RFP sent out during the latter part of 2016. Key differences in this solicitation include: 

• Requirement to renovate the restrooms;
• Schedule change for submitting architectural related information;
• Vendor requirement to establish a maintenance escrow account. 

The new RFP, identified as RFP 030817, is posted on the Finance Cabinet’s website. Go to finance.ky.gov and click on “Buildings & Land for sale or lease.” It is also posted on the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s eProcurement website. Click the “Guest Access” button, type in Beaver Dam for a keyword search, then click the "Details" button.

Should there be changes to the RFP schedule or information added, updates will be posted on both websites.  

Following are important dates designated in the RFP:

• Feb. 8, 2017:  Site visit for interested parties.
• March 8, 2017:  Proposals due to the Division of Real Properties, Department for Facilities and Support Services.
• April 2017:  Anticipated vendor selection in early April. Vendor has up to three months to be operational.
• July 2017:  Service area open for business.

Parties interested in submitting a proposal for the project should direct all inquiries to Natalie W. Brawner with the Division of Real Properties.  As the buyer for this solicitation, she is the only person who will be able to answer questions and provide information. She may be reached via email at natalie.brawner@ky.gov.  

Food and gasoline services are available nearby at the U.S. 231 Beaver Dam exit 75 interchange. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has installed temporary message boards and barricades to the entry ramps at the site. 

Additional information is available online at http://finance.ky.gov/

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Controlled Detonation to Briefly Stop Traffic

This is becoming a habit! Another Kentucky Transportation Cabinet traffic advisory came out today for Tuesday (9/23) or Wednesday (9/24):

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is moving ahead with improvements along Lovers Lane in Hopkinsville.

The contractor plans an explosive detonation along the work zone on Tuesday or Wednesday, September 23 or 24, 2014. This controlled detonation will require traffic to be stopped along US 41-Alternate/Ft. Campbell Boulevard near the Lovers Lane intersection at the south edge of Hopkinsville on Tuesday or Wednesday.

This traffic stoppage will be at US 41-Alternate mile point 12.157. Traffic will be stopped about 1500 ft. from the detonation point. Traffic is expected to be stopped for up to 10 minutes.

Some future use of explosives to aid in rock excavation along the project may require additional brief traffic stoppages.

The Lovers Lane (CR-1652) project is designed to improve connections between US 41-Alternate and the Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway while providing improved access to the Hopkinsville Convention Center entrance.

Westate Construction of Hopkinsville is the prime contractor on the $1,993,975 transportation improvement project. Completion is expected in mid-August, 2015.

I-24 Traffic Advisory

This morning I received another traffic advisory from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, this time related to I-24 and the installation of additional cable barriers:

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is in the final phases of median cable barrier installation along Interstate 24 in Christian County between the U.S. 41-Alernate Hopkinsville/Ft. Campbell Interchange at Exit 86 and the Kentucky-Tennessee State Line.

The cables are up. However, finish work is continuing. This week the contractor plans to place gravel along the median shoulder to connect the shoulder to the concrete base of the cable barrier. This activity will require a moving lane restriction along the work zone. The contractor will then come back to chip and seal the area along the media shoulder.

This phase will require all traffic to be moved to the right-hand or driving lane in the work zone. Motorists should use extra caution due to trucks moving into and out of the work site.

In Christian County, this work zone begins near the U.S. 41-Alternate Exit 86 interchange at mile point 85.5 and extends to the Kentucky/Tennessee line at mile point 93.4. This section is a continuation of a nearly 16-mile cable barrier installation project in Christian County completed in July of this year.

Placement of median cable barriers is determined by traffic volume and crash data. Kentucky has more than 240 miles of barrier installed or in the process of installation — most of it along interstates and highways in urban areas.

This year, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has budgeted $6.1 million for median barrier installation. The cost per mile averages $140,000 to $150,000 per mile.

The project was awarded to the George B. Stone Company, of Sharpsburg. Completion is expected in mid-October.

KY Road Closure Advisory

I received the following email from the Kentucky Department of Transportation this afternoon. Be advised!

A contractor plans to close US 68/KY 80 at night in downtown Hopkinsville starting Monday, September 22, 2014.

The night closure of US 68/KY 80/West 9th Street in Hopkinsville is to allow construction of a new sanitary sewer manhole.

This closure is in the 300 Block of West 9th Street near the Justice Center. There will be a marked detour.

The work is being scheduled at night to minimize traffic disruptions and is expected to take about two or three days to complete.

Caution is required along the detour route due to increased traffic flow.

This closure is just west of the North Fork Little River Bridge on US 68/KY68-80/West 9th Street.

Hart AgStrong LLC

It has been a great week for jobs here in the 3rd Senate district!  After last week's announcement in Logan County I am proud to share in the announcement that Hart AgStrong, a Canola Oilseed Processing operation will be coming to Todd County.  The project means a $7.3 Million investment in Todd County, 25 new jobs and a boost to the local agribusiness economy.

The full text of the Governor's press release follows:

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Governor Steve Beshear today announced Hart AgStrong LLC will build a canola oilseed processing plant in Todd County. The company plans to create 25 full-time jobs and invest $7.3 million into the project.

“We welcome Hart AgStrong to the Commonwealth,” said Gov. Beshear. “Not only will the company create 25 jobs and invest $7.3 million, it will also provide a significant boost to our local farmers and Kentucky’s food production industry. I look forward to seeing this Kentucky-made product on store shelves throughout the U.S.”

Hart AgStrong will construct a 23,000-square-foot processing facility off Highway 41 in Trenton this fall. The plant will initially crush and process 150 tons of canola oilseeds per day. A second phase of the project will include increasing the facility’s crushing capacity and building a vegetable oil refining plant, which is expected to be operational by early 2017.

“Hart AgStrong is very pleased to be able to join the farming community as a processor in the beautiful Commonwealth of Kentucky and the town of Trenton,” said Hart AgStrong President and CEO Robert Davis. “This region of Kentucky is an excellent area for double cropping, and canola provides a very good option for farmers to include in their crop rotations.”

Hart AgStrong is a leading producer of canola and sunflower oil. Since 2006, the company has been building relationships with local farmers by contracting oilseed production acres, and launched its first canola operation in Georgia in 2009. Hart AgStrong is building the new facility to be closer to canola seed farmers in western Kentucky.

A $5.4 billion industry, agriculture is vital to Kentucky’s economy. The state’s 77,000 farms cover nearly 13 million acres.

“I applaud Hart AgStrong for selecting Kentucky to expand its canola oilseed operations,” said Roger Thomas, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy. “As a result of Hart AgStrong’s agri-business investment in our state, the Commonwealth’s farmers will have enhanced crop opportunities, our hardworking Kentuckians will benefit from the new job growth and Kentucky’s overall economy will receive a healthy boost.”

To encourage the investment and job creation in Trenton, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $450,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.

“This decision by Hart AgStrong to build a new processing plant here says a lot about the quality of our local workforce and our farmers, and I’m happy to see this company and these good jobs come to Todd County,” said Rep. Martha Jane King, of Lewisburg. “I also appreciate our local and state officials for working closely with the company to help it establish operations right here in Kentucky.”

“I am excited to hear that Hart AgStrong has decided to invest in Todd County, bringing jobs, revenue and economic growth to the community,” said Sen. Whitney Westerfield, of Hopkinsville. “Hart AgStrong clearly recognizes the value in locating in the thriving agribusiness climate of western Kentucky.”

“I’m looking forward to the growth in our community when Hart AgStrong arrives,” said Trenton Mayor Jo Ann Holder. “Trenton is growing, and this announcement will help us expand our vision. I’m sure that Hart AgStrong will be a positive influence when it comes to employing their workforce locally. What is good for Trenton is good for Todd County.”

“On behalf of Todd County Fiscal Court and the citizens of Todd County, I would like to welcome Hart AgStrong to Trenton,” said Todd County Judge-Executive Daryl Greenfield. “Hart AgStrong will further expand our agricultural growth and opportunities. We are thankful for the significant investments and quality jobs coming to our county. I also would like to thank everyone who had a part in making this partnership possible.”

For more information on Hart AgStrong, visit www.agstrong.com

Todd County has been certified by the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board as a Work Ready in Progress Community. The certification is an assurance to business and industry that the community is committed to providing the highly skilled workforce required in today's competitive global economy.

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at www.ThinkKentucky.com. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion on Facebook or follow on Twitter. Watch the Cabinet’s “This is My Kentucky” video on YouTube.

A detailed community profile for Trenton (Todd County) can be viewed here.

The Road Plan

A compromise "6-Year" Road Plan, in the Free Conference Committee Report on House Bill 237, was introduced and approved by the General Assembly during the final day of the regular session, along with its companion budget bill.  Included below are excerpts from the full plan linked above that show the breakdown of projects for the Third Senate District (Christian, Todd and Logan Counties).  I am pleased to report that the projects with greatest priority, as described to me by the local leaders of each county, are funded in the plan.

The Road Plan officially appropriates money only for the biennium, and the four "out years" that make up the rest of the "6-Year" plan are approved by a non-binding Concurrent Resolution.  The official vote record for the bill is available here.  (Note: that the record includes the vote sheets for each version of HB237.)

Christian County

Todd County

Logan County

Ky DOT Advisory

A traffic construction advisory that just landed in my inbox:

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to close KY 345/Huffman Mill Road in CHRISTIAN County on Wednesday and Thursday, April 16 & 17, 2014.

KY 345 will be closed at mile point 8.753 to allow a log jam to be removed from the Little River Bridge.

Flooding over the winter uprooted a large tree that jammed under the bridge and collected a massive amount of debris.  The Christian County Highway Maintenance Crew will have to use a crane to pull some of the large trees off the bridge piers.

This is along KY 345 between KY 107 and KY 695.  Motorists who regularly travel this section of KY 345/Huffman Mill Road should make advance alternate travel plans for Wednesday and Thursday.

There will be no marked detour.  Engineers estimate it will take about two days to remove the debris pile, but the work could extend into Friday.

Timely traffic advisories for the 11 counties of KYTC Highway District 2 are available by going towww.facebook.com/kytcdistrict2. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.