U.S. 23 Project in Ky. Complete

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) - With little fanfare, a 30-year renovation project to four-lane all of U.S. 23 has been finished.

The region's main north-south artery became a 156-mile-long four-lane highway from the Virginia line to Portsmouth, Ohio, last week.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for mid-October by transportation officials, and some minor tasks remain. Unofficially, however, the final 12-mile section of twisting two-lane blacktop on U.S. 23 between Dorton and Jenkins is done.

With or without four lanes, U.S. 23 has been one of the nation's busiest coal-haul roads for years.

The total cost of the project across seven Kentucky mountain counties was not available, but the price tag for rebuilding U.S. 23 between Dorton and the Virginia line alone was $131 million - including $54 million for a bypass through Jenkins, according to state transportation officials.

Bruce Brown, Pikeville's tourism director, said the project has been time-consuming and expensive.

"At one time, we heard it just could not be done because it would take too much money," Brown said. "Road-building in the mountains is phenomenally expensive. You pay by the inch."

U.S. 23 in Kentucky includes 7 miles of four-lane highway in Letcher County, 33 miles in Pike, 21 in Floyd, 17 in Johnson, 29 in Lawrence, 21 in Boyd and 28 in Greenup County.

A 2-mile, mostly two-lane connector from U.S. 23 to Virgie cost almost $20 million.

Whatever the final cost of the entire U.S. 23 project, many in the region say it's worth it.