Wednesday’s groundbreaking on Section 1 of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing project was a tremendous milestone, both for the ultimate completion of I-69 through Indiana and Kentucky and also for the army of advocates, elected officials and transportation officials who worked decades to see that happen.

But, in 2008, Interstate 69 in Kentucky was dead in the water. There was not a single mention of I-69 in the commonwealth’s 2008 six-year road plan. Our local state legislators seemingly had no idea how to get the project off zero.

I was appointed Henderson Chamber of Commerce president in 2009 and was immediately recruited into a group of Northwest Kentucky chamber leaders who’d created an advocacy group to push for the bridge. A similar organization was taking shape in the Purchase Area. 

Both teams put pressure on then-Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Joe Prather to take a step that might get I-69 back on track – use federal grant money to study the viability of upgrading the Purchase Parkway to interstate standards so that it could be re-designated as I-69. The state already had the grant money. It had just been shelved. For years. 

Sec. Prather accepted my invitation to speak at the Henderson Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner that spring. In a room full of local chamber members and my chamber peers from around the region, Prather announced KYTC would start the study.

That was my first big “YESS!!” moment advocating for I-69. I remember it to this day.

Sec. Prather’s decision started a ball rolling that hasn’t yet stopped. Once the study got underway, then-KYTC District 2 Chief Engineer Ted Merryman brainstormed with Prather’s successor, Mike Hancock, the Federal Highway Administration Kentucky chief at the time, Jose Sepulveda, and Gov. Steve Beshear. They hit on the idea to use fixes and upgrades to parts of the Pennyrile, Western Kentucky and Purchase parkways that were already in the road plan to pave the way for all three being renamed I-69. 

Ted and Sec. Hancock urged the chamber advocates to convince West Kentucky legislators to relabel those existing initiatives as I-69 projects in the 2010 road plan that was being crafted. Doing that would indicate to FHWA chiefs and other General Assembly members that Kentucky was serious about I-69 and creating it here was a goal worth supporting. 

The state legislature came through. All of a sudden more than $44 million in I-69 projects were identified in the 2010 road plan. The intention to begin renaming the parkways was officially announced on Sept. 7, 2011.  Ground was broken on the first of those rehabilitation projects, the Western Kentucky Parkway/109 interchange at Dawson Springs (Beshear’s hometown), Dec. 23, 2012.

That groundbreaking – as well as the support of three Kentucky governors (Steve Beshear, Matt Bevin and Andy Beshear), three secretaries of transportation (Mike Hancock, Greg Thomas and Jim Gray), dozens of local, state and federal elected officials; and the hard work of even more grassroots advocates – led to the one on Wednesday, nearly a decade later. It’s been quite a journey. 

But the job is not done. There is still a bridge to get built sooner than the announced timelines. There will be a local push, before the project is done entirely, to save both existing twin bridges. And there is still a great desire to see the Audubon and lower Pennyrile parkways be renamed as I-69 spurs. 

So back to the advocacy work we go. It will be worth it. We’ve shown that we can help make big dreams come true, one historic milestone at a time.

-Brad