Bluegrass Parkway
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The Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway is a
freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
running from
Elizabethtown, Kentucky Elizabethtown is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,394 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in the state. It is the principal city of the Elizab ...
to
Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles, Kentucky, Versailles. The area was home to Pi ...
, for a length of 71.134 miles (114.479 km). It intersects with
Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...
at its western terminus, and
U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...
at its eastern terminus. It is one of seven highways that are part of the
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare. The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded. Over the years, many different types of roads have been labeled p ...
system. The road is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9002 (BG 9002). It is constructed similar to the
Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
system, though sections do not measure up to current Interstate standards.


History


As a toll road

In 1963, the Kentucky Turnpike Authority recommended what was then known as the "Central Kentucky Turnpike" be constructed from Elizabethtown to the Lexington- Frankfort area. The parkway was opened in November 1965 as the Kentucky Bluegrass Parkway (the "Kentucky" was dropped a few years later) and was originally a
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
, 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 which occurred in 1991.


Toll plazas and charges

The table below shows the locations of the former toll plazas, and toll charges that were previously charged for consumer-sized, or class 1 vehicles.


Name changes

In 2003, the road was renamed in honor of
Martha Layne Collins Colonel Martha Layne Collins (née Hall; born December 7, 1936) is an American former businesswoman and politician from the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky; she served as the state's List of Governors of Kentucky, 56th govern ...
, the first female
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of Kentucky. Previously, it was the Kentucky Bluegrass parkway (and signed as "KB Parkway"), then later renamed 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 once used on its original signs from 1965 until they were replaced by a shield with the Collins name in 2003.


Route description

The parkway begins in Hardin County, at a
trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...
with I-65 near Elizabethtown. It traverses
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, northern
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, northern
Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...
, southern Anderson, and Woodford counties, passing
Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...
, Lawrenceburg, and ending just east of
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
at US-60, where high-speed ramps allow traffic to continue to Lexington via US-60 eastbound. The toll plazas, which were removed in 1991, were located at the following locations: *Exit 10 at
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
*Exit 34 at Bloomfield, and *Exit 59 at Lawrenceburg.


Proposals


Connection with Interstate 64

No connection to I-64 was planned as it had not been constructed and would not open until the late 1970s. There have been talks for a direct connection from the eastern terminus of the parkway at US 60 to I-64, but nothing has been finalized. Such a connection would likely face opposition in the Lexington area due to the many horse farms that would be adversely affected as the
thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
breeding industry is an important direct employer and a major tourist draw in the region.


Exit list


References

# Carlyle, Jeffrey
"Re: Lexington loop?"
Online posting. May 1, 2002. May 1, 2002. # "Report on Examination of Financial Statements and Supplemental Data — Central Kentucky Toll Road (Bluegrass Parkway)." Cook and Taylor Certified Public Accountants. June 30, 1982. Accessed March 12, 2004.


External links

{{Named Roads in Kentucky 9002 Kentucky parkway system Transportation in Anderson County, Kentucky Transportation in Hardin County, Kentucky Transportation in Mercer County, Kentucky Transportation in Nelson County, Kentucky Transportation in Washington County, Kentucky Transportation in Woodford County, Kentucky