State Route 54 (US 641)

History and Background

Northern Segment

In 2018, KYTC was awarded a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for $23 million. The BUILD Grant awarded to KYTC was to be used as partial funding for environmental analyses, preliminary and final engineering, ROW acquisition and construction of 6.235 miles of US 641 between the Tennessee/Kentucky state line and the Middle Fork of the Clarks River near Murray, KY. As part of the Environmental Assessment (EA) done in 2019 KYTC developed several alternatives which included improvements in Tennessee to tie their improvements in Kentucky to the existing facility in Tennessee. As part of the EA, several alternatives were eliminated for various reasons and through public involvement along with discussions between KYTC and TDOT, an alignment in Tennessee was selected as the preferred alternative(4i). This alignment involves relocating SR 54 to the west to tie into the KYTC segment.

In October 2019 a bi-state agreement was executed between Kentucky and Tennessee. A project kickoff meeting was also held in October 2019. Survey began in early 2020 and the project design began in late 2020. A design public meeting was held in April 2023, and ROW plans have been distributed.

Southern Segment

In order to connect the existing 5-lane section of SR 54, north of Paris, with the northern segment of SR 54, TDOT plans to widen SR 54 between Paris and Puryear. TDOT completed an Environmental Assessment in 2010 which envisioned two alternatives—one following the existing alignment and one (Alternative B) bypassing Puryear to the east. As part of this project’s development, Alternative B may be reconsidered.

Public Involvement and Engagement

Northern Segment

March 12, 2019 – KYTC held an informal open-format public meeting at the Hazel Baptist Church in Hazel, KY. The alternatives under consideration for the Kentucky improvements and Tennessee improvements were shown to the attendees.

August 22, 2019 – KYTC held a public hearing at the Hazel Baptist Church in Hazel, KY. The purpose of the 2019 Public Hearing was to provide the public with an update on the project status, introduce the Selected Alternative, gather input on the connector options and provide the public with an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.

April 6, 2023 – TDOT held a Design Public meeting at the Dorothy and Noble Harrelson School in Puryear, TN. The purpose of this meeting was to show the public the current design of the project and allow them to ask questions and provide comments. At this meeting, the public was presented a three-lane design that consisted of three 12-foot travel lanes with one lane in each direction along with a center two-way left turn lane and 8-foot paved shoulders. A three-lane bridge over KWT Railway and existing SR 54 was presented. Numerous attendees at the meeting were opposed to the three-lane design due to lack of passing opportunities, which wouldn’t make the route any safer and that the three-lane design would not provide any more capacity. After the meeting, TDOT Leadership began reviewing options to alleviate the concerns presented by the public. As a result of this review, TDOT has ultimately decided to abandon the three-lane design and construct a five-lane facility.

Southern Segment

No public meetings have been held for this project thus far; this page will be updated when further information becomes available.

Environment

Northern Segment

As part of the bi-state agreement between KYTC and TDOT, KYTC completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the section of SR 54 north of Puryear in 2019. The EA approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in July 2019. Subsequently, the FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) was approved by FHWA in November 2019.