Interstate_169_(Kentucky)
Interstate 169 (Kentucky)
Highway in Kentucky
Interstate 169 (I-169) is a 34.271-mile-long (55.154 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway that travels along the former southern section of the Pennyrile Parkway in Kentucky. The highway was designated on May 7, 2017, after President Donald Trump signed legislation designating the route.[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.
| Pennyrile Parkway | ||||
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] | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-24 near Hopkinsville | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |    I-69 / Future I-569 / Western Kentucky Parkway near Nortonville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Kentucky | |||
| Counties | Christian, Hopkins | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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As of October 2022[update], 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.[4] I-169 signage is expected to be installed when required upgrades to the parkway are completed.[5] A project to do the upgrades is set to be completed in November 2024.
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 Western Coal Field, running roughly parallel to U.S. Route 41 (US 41) and bypassing numerous small towns before ending at a converted cloverleaf interchange with I-69 and the Western Kentucky Parkway and merging with I-69 through traffic.[6]
The freeway was originally known solely as, and part of, the Pennyrile Parkway, one of the original nine parkways in the Kentucky parkway system, from its 1969 opening until May 7, 2017, when Congress officially designated the section from the 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 parkway 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.[7]
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded a $13.9-million project to Scotty's Contracting to upgrade the highway to Interstate standards. These improvements include raising the vertical bridge clearance heights at three overpasses, reconstruction of bridge railings over Drakes Creek, interchange improvements at exits 30, 33, and 34, and the development of a future project to improve exit 11. The completion of this project is set for November 2024.[8][9][10]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | | 0.000 | 0.000 | 1 | I-24 – Nashville, Paducah | I-24 exit 81; southern terminus; signed as exits 1A (west) and 1B (east) southbound; trumpet interchange |
| Hopkinsville | 5.175 | 8.328 | 5 | Lover's Lane – Hopkinsville | Serves James E. Bruce Convention Center, northbound exit 5A | |
| 6.000 | 9.656 | 6 |   US 68 Byp. (Eagle Way) – Hopkinsville | Northbound exit 5B | ||
| 7.000 | 11.265 | 7 |   US 41 Alt. – Hopkinsville, Fort Campbell | |||
| 7.935 | 12.770 | 8 |  US 41 / KY 109 – Hopkinsville, Pembroke | Southern end of US 41 Truck concurrency | ||
| 9.359 | 15.062 | 9 |  US 68 / KY 80 – Hopkinsville, Elkton | Serves Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site and the Hopkinsville-Christian County Airport | ||
| 11.697 | 18.824 | 11 |    KY 1682 / US 41 Truck north – Hopkinsville | Northern end of US 41 Truck concurrency; serves Hopkinsville Community College and provides access to KY 107 | ||
| Crofton | 22.653 | 36.456 | 23 |  KY 800 – Crofton | Serves Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park | |
| Hopkins | Nortonville | 29.568 | 47.585 | 30 |  US 41 south | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 32.861 | 52.885 | 33 |  US 62 – Nortonville, Greenville | |||
| 34.271 | 55.154 | 34 |  I-69 / Western Kentucky Parkway east – Elizabethtown, Fulton, Henderson | I-69 exit 106; northern terminus; signed as exit 34A (east), 34B (south) and 34C (north) | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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- Commonwealth of Kentucky. "Official DMI Route Log". Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
- Morgen, Doc (May 8, 2017). "I-169 designation years in the making". Kentucky New Era. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. 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. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- "Google Maps". Google Maps. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- Pickett, Mike (April 23, 2018). "Future I-169 Corridor Signs Go Up on Pennyrile Parkway". TristateHomePage.com. Henderson, KY: WEHT-TV. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- Google (May 3, 2021). "Overview map of Future I-169" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- Carlyle, Jeffrey. "Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway". KentuckyRoads.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.[self-published source]
- Brown, Jennifer P. (August 4, 2023). "Start of Interstate 169 upgrades includes a tribute for the late John Mahre". Hoptown Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- "Gov. Beshear,Local Officials Celebrate Major Route Expansion,Economic Growth in Western Kentucky". www.kentucky.gov. August 3, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- "Mahre Remembered As Officials Celebrate Future I-169 Corridor". WKDZ Radio. August 3, 2023. Archived from the original on August 3, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
Media related to Interstate 169 (Kentucky) at Wikimedia Commons