The 2026 session of the Kentucky General Assembly was a very good one for Whitley County, which received nearly $11 million in funding for various projects in addition to millions more for various road projects.
The Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport is getting $7 million for a new runway expansion. $1.5 million has been earmarked for a replacement water tank for the City of Williamsburg. An additional $1.5 million – on top of previous state funding – is going to help pay for the jail renovation and expansion project, and $950,000 is allocated to help renovate the old Williamsburg post office into an innovation hub.
It will be good to see something positive happen with this building, which is an important part of Williamsburg’s history.
Also, the Whitley County Fiscal Court is getting $2.68 million to pave portions of some county roads and the City of Corbin is getting $294,000 for road paving work. This is all through the Local Assistance Road Plan (LARP).
To put this in perspective, this funding allows Whitley County to repave some of the worst portions of these roads and not just patch potholes on them. In total, it will help pay for repaving of 19.3 miles of roads in the county.
In addition, HB 502 appropriates $84.9 million to Whitley County in the two-year road plan for projects, such as the US25 widening, I-75 widening, replacement of the bridge at Three Point and reconfiguring KY-92 for safety improvements.
If you must pass a big bus or semi on the relatively narrow bridge at Three Point, you kind of hold your breath for a few seconds hoping all the vehicles are going to be able to pass safely. As far as KY-92 goes, parts of this road have literally been a killer due to some dangerous curves.
HB 502 also allocates money to build an additional access road for the Corbin Arena. Not many of the details are known about this project as it is just now in the planning stages.
Besides enabling patrons to get in and out of the Corbin Arena more quickly before and after events, this second entrance/exit is badly needed for safety purposes. Major Arena events back up traffic significantly along Cumberland Falls Highway in front of the Arena, the hospital and the ramps for I-75 Exit 25.
Any ambulance rushing a patient to Baptist Health Corbin before and after events will likely face traffic delays and possibly significant delays depending on how heavy traffic is. In emergency cases where seconds can mean lives, this has the potential to be deadly.
Credit goes to 82nd Rep. Nick Wilson and Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers for helping to secure this badly needed funding. Our local legislators did good. I think I can speak for many in the community when I say thank you for your good work. Keep it up.
Now let me turn my attention to a couple of recent events before I conclude this column.
Let me say a big thank you to the organizers of this year’s Cumberland Falls Cleanup, which was held April 18, and to the 283 volunteers who participated.
Volunteers removed 430 bags of trash plus 13 tires. Most of the trash was collected along KY-90.
On the minus side, it is incredibly sad people litter so much throwing trash along our roadways and into our rivers. On the plus side though, it is very rewarding so many people came out to help clean-up their community and their environment.
While I am handing out compliments, let me say good work to Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission Executive Director Emily Roberts and the rest of the organizers behind the 2026 Colonel Fest held in downtown Corbin April 10-11.
The festival went great from everything I could see on April 11. I was out at the festival off and on for pretty much the whole day. There was great turnout, great food and lots of activities. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
While reptiles and snakes are not really my thing, the Kentucky Reptile Zoo out of Slade proved to be a hit especially with the kids as did the petting zoo.
The event also had great weather this year, which is something you have absolutely no control over when you plan an outdoor event months in advance.
The weather at this year’s Colonel Fest was a nice contrast to the inaugural Colonel Fest in 2021. It was rainy, cool and dreary for much of the day. I have seldom felt as sorry for organizers of an event as I did then.
