| Cumberland Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 88.547 mi[1] (142.503 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | I-65 near Park City |
| US 31E in Glasgow US 68/KY 80 near Edmonton US 127 in Russell Springs |
|
| East end: | US 27 near Somerset |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Barren, Metcalfe, Adair, Russell, Pulaski |
| Highway system | |
The Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway is an 88.547 mile (142.503 km) long east–west controlled-access highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky, extending from Barren County in the west to Somerset in the east. It is one of nine highways that are part of Kentucky's parkway system.
The parkway begins at an interchange with Interstate 65 (exit 43) between Smiths Grove and Park City. It travels east through rolling farmland to its eastern terminus at U.S. Route 27 in north of Somerset. The road parallels Kentucky Route 80 for its entire length. The parkway passes the cities of Glasgow, Edmonton, Columbia, and Russell Springs. It passes near two popular state parks: Lake Cumberland State Resort Park and Barren River Lake State Resort Park. The length of the parkway is designated unsigned Kentucky Route 9008 (LN 9008).
The road is named after Louie B. Nunn, a former Kentucky governor from Barren County who was instrumental in the road's creation. Originally called the Cumberland Parkway from its opening in 1972-1973, it was renamed for Nunn in 2000.
Presumably, the Nunn Parkway was built to Interstate Highway standards at its time of construction aside from some at-grade intersections and traffic signals near its east end, which were eliminated in 2010 by constructing a northwestern bypass around Somerset. The east end of the parkway is currently a full cloverleaf at U.S. 27. An extension to complete the northern bypass is in the works.
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The Nunn Parkway, as with all nine parkways, was originally a toll road. By Kentucky state law, toll collection ceases when enough toll has been collected or funds received from other sources, such as a legislative appropriation, to pay off the construction bonds for the parkway. In the case of the Nunn, toll booths were removed in 2003 because of a bill in the United States Congress sponsored by Hal Rogers (R-KY), which included an appropriation to pay off the bonds on the parkway as well as the Daniel Boone Parkway in eastern Kentucky. The state legislature then renamed the Boone Parkway for Rogers, which sparked a controversy among residents of the region and the offspring of Boone. Nunn tried to calm the controversy by suggesting the state rename the Nunn Parkway for Rogers instead, restoring the Boone name, saying that the Cumberland Parkway had been named for Nunn without his consent anyway.
The road had three toll plazas:
The parkway has been designated a part of the "Future Interstate 66 Corridor," a proposed four-lane Interstate utilizing the existing Cumberland and Hal Rogers Parkway, among other routes, across the southern tier of Kentucky. It cannot be signed as an Interstate until it has permanent connections to the east and west, both of which have not been determined due to the King Coal Highway in West Virginia being demoted to a corridor-standard roadway for US 52. As part of the upgrade of the Cumberland Parkway to interstate standards for I-66, two new exits have been proposed by the Kentucky Department of Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). The first new exit (which has been completed) is at Ky 61 (Exit 46) making a second connection to Columbia, Ky and a connection to Burkesville, Ky and Dale Hollow Lake. The second proposed exit is yet to be under construction or completed by early to late 2012 at Ky 910 (Exit 70)connecting the small towns of Salem, Ky and Windsor, Ky.
| County | Location | Mile[1] | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barren | 0.000 | 1A-B | I-65 - south to Bowling Green, Nashville, north to Elizabethtown, Louisville | Westbound only. | |
| Glasgow | 11.436 | 11 | US 31E - Glasgow, Scottsville | ||
| 13.983 | 14 | KY 90 - Glasgow | |||
| Metcalfe | Edmonton | 27.400 | 27 | US 68/KY 80 - Edmonton, Glasgow | |
| Adair | Columbia | 48.886 | 49 | KY 55 - Columbia | |
| Columbia | 46.000 | 46 | KY 61 - Columbia, Burkesville | ||
| Russell | Russell Springs | 62.419 | 62 | US 127 - Jamestown, Russell Springs | |
| Pulaski | 78.349 | 78 | KY 80 - Nancy | ||
| Somerset | 86.104 | 86 | TO US 27, KY 914 - Somerset, Burnside | ||
| 88.258 | 88A-B | US 27 - Somerset, Lexington |
Cloverleaf intersection; only westbound ramps open |