Commonwealth of Kentucky
Transportation Cabinet

Traffic on base asphalt with additional ramp work in spring

PADUCAH, Ky. (December 20, 2023) – A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has reopened ramps at the Julian Carroll-Purchase Parkway/U.S. 51 Fulton Exit 1 interchange at Fulton.  All ramps at Exit 1 have been closed since Oct. 24, for reconstruction.

Opening of the Exit 4 ramps on base asphalt improves access to the parkway from U.S. 51 at Fulton.  Additional work is planned at the Exit 1 interchange when work ramps back up for the 2024 construction season.

Load width restrictions have been removed from the Purchase Parkway along the work zone.  However, some lane restrictions remain in place at several locations between the Kentucky-Tennessee State Line at Fulton and the I-69 Mayfield Exit 21 interchange at Mayfield where the contractor is continuing work on overpasses.

Motorists should be mindful of ongoing construction activity along the Purchase Parkway work zone.  There is a 55 mph work zone speed limit with an enhanced police presence in areas where construction crews are present.

Jim Smith Contracting of Grand Rivers is the prime contractor on this $33.9 million project.  The target completion date for all of the parkway upgrades is December 15, 2024

On completion, the project will allow Interstate 69 to be extended along the final 21 miles of the existing parkway to the Kentucky-Tennessee State Line.

Along with ongoing construction to complete a new I-69 Ohio River crossing between Henderson and Evansville, Indiana, this project through parts of Graves, Hickman and Fulton counties is a significant step toward completing I-69 through Kentucky.

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