Blog

The holiday season kicked off last week with Thanksgiving. According to AAA, more than 51 million people traveled more than 50 miles from their homes using planes, trains, and driving on the roads. That’s an increase from previous years – and the highest level of travel in dozens of years, according to AAA’s report. That was a lot of people. To put it in perspective – that was like everyone in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Illinois, and Missouri traveling at the same time. Like I said – that was a lot of people. And the majority of those travelers drove. AAA estimated that 45 million people drove to their destination this past weekend. My family and I were … Read More

I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that next week is Thanksgiving 2017. I’m not sure where this year has gone. But alas – this year is nearly over and hopefully next week we’ll all be gathered around full tables with the people we love the most celebrating all the people and things we’re grateful to have in our lives. As people who provide transportation – whether you design it, build it, provide it, or move the materials used to build it – this is our time to shine. This is the time of year when we make sure that people get to their families quickly and safely so they can enjoy one more holiday together no matter … Read More

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of moderating a panel during KACo’s 43rd Annual Conference and Exposition. This was a great panel – the presenters included Dave Adkisson from the Kentucky Chamber, Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore, and KYTC Secretary Greg Thomas. The Secretary informed attendees about where we are as a state with our transportation network. He spoke of the billion dollar backlog in resurfacing, the more than 1,100 structurally deficient bridges in the state, the additional $30 million that is needed to create a multi-modal transportation fund, and the additional $500 million that is needed every year to maintain the roads and bridges we have and to build the new roads and bridges we need. Judge Moore … Read More

Last year KBT and several other organizations formed the Kentucky Infrastructure Coalition or KIC. The Coalition members are organizations and companies that depend on infrastructure and the goal is to advocate for sustainable funding for all modes of transportation to move Kentucky forward. Earlier this week I sent the KBT Board of Directors an update on the Kentucky Infrastructure Coalition’s activities. It only took a few minutes to write – but after I read it I was tired. We’ve been busy. From drafting editorials to creating newsletter content to creating videos, much has happened. We’ve also been out on the road. In the past 4 weeks, we’ve addressed 9 different civic groups. From Murray to Morehead, I’ve talked about how … Read More

When you find out you’re in a hole, the best thing to do is quit digging. The problem is, when you find out you’re in a hole – you’re in a hole – and there’s no easy way out. And that’s where we’ve found ourselves as a state. We’re facing some significant financial holes that have far-reaching and long-term impacts on everything we do. When it comes to funding our transportation infrastructure, we’re fully aware of our financial holes. Our state faces funding shortfalls that have left us with a billion dollar backlog in resurfacing, 70 closed bridges, $50 million in deferred maintenance at our General Aviation airports, hundreds of millions in needs at our public riverports, hundreds of rail … Read More

Last night was the quarterly Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meeting at my kids’ school. Parents are required to attend PTO meetings so we can learn about all the great things going on at school and all the activities, calendar and staff updates, and sporting events we can support. And while all of that is great – there is one thing to remember about the PTO meetings – you always have to bring your checkbook. There is always a fundraiser of some sort during the PTO meetings. Whether we’re being asked to participate in an auction, a sales drive, or to buy more school spirit wear – the PTO seems to always ask for more and more money. And none of … Read More

On Monday, October 16, at 10:00 am in the morning, District 12 CDE Mary Westfall-Holbrook will convene an incredible group of people to memorialize Ms. Gayle Lawson by naming a bridge on US 119 in Letcher County in her honor. I was invited to go to the event by the Cabinet and by Calvin Grayson – who knew Ms. Lawson well. In his words – she was tireless. After a little research, his point was proven. Ms. Lawson was a teacher by trade, which is an undertaking in itself. In her spare time, she worked to better her community. From working with the Harlan County Committee on Aging to the Harlan County Justice Center, Ms. Lawson gave her time to … Read More

This week has been a busy one. I started in Bowling Green on Monday, followed by Frankfort on Tuesday, then to Madisonville on Wednesday, then to Harlan yesterday. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to so many people about infrastructure and how important it is to their everyday life – and the impact it has on their local community and the state. From Madisonville to Harlan – they get it. They all want better access – whether it is public transit or roads and bridges or airports – everyone wants to be connected. Everyone is afraid of being left behind. And it is not an unfounded fear when it comes to transportation – because we find ourselves behind already. Every … Read More