FRANKFORT, Ky. — After formally unveiling his two-year state budget proposal, Gov. Andy Beshear on Friday pitched a recommended highway plan that targets two new Ohio River bridges and an expansion of the Mountain Parkway.

The Governor's 2022 Recommended Highway Plan lays out repairs and preservation for roads and bridges across the state, which he said will be critical to Kentucky's economic growth.

“My Recommended Highway Plan is fiscally responsible, regionally diverse and data-driven,” Beshear said in a press release. “It will enhance safety, accessibility and the quality of life for all of our citizens. It also provides a way to pursue the types of investments we need to build on the record-setting economic development of the past two years.”

The plan hinges on anticipated revenues of $8.5 billion through 2028, Beshear said – meaning around $6.2 billion in federal-aid highway funding and $2.3 billion in state revenues. You can find full details of the highway plan here.

Kentucky is home to over 9,000 bridges and 63,000 lane-miles of pavement, which makes the systems the seventh-largest and eighth-largest in the nation respectively, according to Transportation Secretary Jim Gray.

"It is critically important that KYTC manages and maintains these assets in a state of good repair for the health, safety and economic vitality of the state," Gray said.

Separately from the highway plan, Beshear hopes to use $250 million in state funds as matching funds for federal grants for three top transportation priorities:

• Toll-free funding of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project in Northern Kentucky, including construction of a companion bridge to share the volume of traffic on Interstates 71 and 75 between Covington and Cincinnati.
• Continued development of the I-69 Ohio River crossing at Henderson.
• Widening work necessary to extend the four-lane Mountain Parkway along KY Route 114 from Salyersville to Prestonsburg.

The plan also would provide $3.6 billion – nearly $600 million a year – to address a backlog of deficient bridges and needed pavement repairs statewide.

KYTC officials said pavement preservation projects include asphalt resurfacing and repairs and diamond grinding of concrete pavements. Bridge preservation projects include painting, deck overlays and minor repairs. There also are projects to replace a number of old bridges across the state, including more than 30 that were built on timbers.

Other notable project highlights include:

• Replacement of concrete pavement on Interstates 24, 64 and 65.
• Repair and grinding of 200 lane-miles of concrete interstate pavement.
• Rehabilitation of failing pavement on I-71 and the Bluegrass Parkway.
• Replacement of the Carrollton Truss Bridge – U.S. 42/KY 36 over the Kentucky River.
• Replacement of four bridges on I-65 in the Louisville metropolitan corridor.
• Rehabilitation of the U.S. 62 Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River at Maysville.
• Replacement of the U.S. 60/U.S. 62 Cairo Bridge at Ballard County.

Beshear's proposal is separate from the Biden administration's recent announcement of $438 million in bridge funding heading to Kentucky, which would not fund major projects like the Brent Spence Bridge.