The Christian County Fiscal Court moved one step closer to beginning construction of Mike Foster Way Tuesday morning, when magistrates voted unanimously to authorize Judge-Executive Steve Tribble to sign all proper documentation for a letter of credit with Planters Bank in the amount of $341,300.
Set to connect Carentan Road and Lovers Lane with an eight-tenths of a mile of road named for the former county attorney, District 4 Magistrate Darrell Gustafson asked the court to move on the project by affirming surety.
Tribble noted the court has already secured a grant for the project earlier this summer from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in the amount of $340,000, and Gustafson noted the delay has been the acquisition of ingress/egress easements from two individuals.
Those two hurdles have been cleared, and Gustafson noted the road has been designed and is ready for bid based on this estimate.
One big reason there’s a sense of urgency is the potential for a clog of traffic in the area. Already, the Bruce Convention Center, Breathitt Veterinary Center and a hotel bring some congestion. Tack on the upcoming school consolidation, and the fiscal court opted to get in front of the potential problem.
Gustafson and District 7 Magistrate Jerry Gilliam each noted the biggest issue in the general area is line-of-sight, and Gilliam said they’re looking at the cost of a device that would signal when there would be oncoming traffic from over the hill near the intersection of Lafayette Road and Lovers Lane.
Fiscal court will convene once again December 14 before pushing its next meeting to January 11.
