Interstate 169 (Kentucky)
Interstate 169 (I-169) is a 34.25-mile-long (55.12 km) freeway that travels along the former southern section of the Pennyrile Parkway in Kentucky. The highway was signed into law designating the route, along with the proposed extension of I-57 by President Donald Trump and was designated on May 7, 2017.[2][3] It travels north from a trumpet interchange with I-24 south of Hopkinsville to a cloverleaf interchange with its parent, I-69 and the Western Kentucky Parkway near Nortonville.
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I-169 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route of I-69 | ||||
| Maintained by KYTC | ||||
| Length | 34.271 mi[1] (55.154 km) | |||
| Existed | May 7, 2017[2]–present | |||
| History | Opened in 1976 as the Pennyrile Parkway Redesignated as I-169 on May 7, 2017[2] | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  | |||
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| North end |  .svg.png){kind=small}  | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Christian, Hopkins | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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As of June 2019, I-169 is still signed as the Pennyrile Parkway. No signage for I-169 has yet been put up, although "Future I-169" signs are present along the route. I-169 signage is expected to be installed when required upgrades to the Parkway are completed.[4]
Route description
The route begins at a trumpet interchange with I-24 near Hopkinsville. It runs northward into the city of Hopkinsville. After passing through, I-169 runs through farmland and the West Kentucky Coalfield, running roughly parallel to U.S. Route 41 (US 41), bypassing numerous small towns before ending at a cloverleaf interchange with I-69 and the Western Kentucky Parkway, merging with I-69 through traffic.
History
The freeway was originally known solely as, and part of the Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway, one of the original nine parkways in the Kentucky parkway system, from its 1969 opening until May 7, 2017, when the United States Congress officially designated the section from I-24 junction in southern Christian County to the I-69/Western Kentucky Parkway junction near Nortonville.[3] In addition to I-169’s current alignment, the Pennyrile Parkway also traveled further northward to its original terminus in Henderson until most of that stretch of the Pennyrile was signed as I-69 in November 2015. US 41 followed the remaining routing of the Pennyrile Parkway from the Henderson Bypass exit to the US 41/US 60 junction in Henderson. After the I-169 designation was made official on May 7, 2017, the unsigned Kentucky Route 9004 (KY 9004) designation associated with the parkway was removed.
The first seven miles (11 km) was not built and completed until March 2011. The Pennyrile Parkway’s original southern terminus was at the exit 7 interchange in Hopkinsville. Construction of that section was built in phases from 2009 to 2011.[5] At some point in the early 2010s after I-69 was designated on the first 38 miles (61 km) of the Western Kentucky Parkway, the current I-169 alignment was rumored to be a future I-24 spur instead, in which no plans were made.
Exit list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | | 0.000 | 0.000 | 1 | | I-24 exit 81; southern terminus; exit 1 is for 24 west; trumpet interchange. |
| Hopkinsville | 5.175 | 8.328 | 5 | Lover's Lane – Hopkinsville | Serves James E. Bruce Convention Center | |
| 6.000 | 9.656 | 6 |  | |||
| 7.000 | 11.265 | 7 |  | |||
| 7.935 | 12.770 | 8 |  | Southern end of US 41 Truck concurrency | ||
| 9.359 | 15.062 | 9 | | Serves Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site and the Hopkinsville-Christian County Airport | ||
| 11.697 | 18.824 | 12 |    | Northern end of US 41 Truck concurrency; serves Hopkinsville Community College and provides access to KY 107 | ||
| Crofton | 22.653 | 36.456 | 23 |  | Serves Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park | |
| Hopkins | Nortonville | 29.568 | 47.585 | 30 | | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 32.861 | 52.885 | 33 | | |||
| 34.271 | 55.154 | 34 | | I-69 exit 106; northern terminus; signed as exit 34A (east), 34B (south) & 34C (north) | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- Commonwealth of Kentucky. "Official DMI Route Log". Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- Morgen, Doc (May 8, 2017). "I-169 designation years in the making". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
- "An Act Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other purposes" (PDF). 115th Congress of the United States of America. January 3, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- Pickett, Mike (23 April 2018). "Future I-169 Corridor Signs Go Up on Pennyrile Parkway". TristateHomePage.com. Henderson, KY: WEHT-TV. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- Carlyle, Jeffrey. "Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway". KentuckyRoads.com.
Exterlink links
