Kentucky Route 9

"KY 9" redirects here. For the former congressional district, see Kentucky's 9th congressional district.

Kentucky Route 9 AA Highway

Kentucky Route 9
AA Highway
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length: 116.285 mi[1] (187.143 km)
Major junctions
South end: KY 1 / KY 7 in Grayson
  I-64
I-275 in Wilder
US 27 in Alexandria
North end: KY 8 in Newport
Location
Counties: Carter, Lewis, Mason, Bracken, Pendleton, Campbell
Highway system
KY 8KY 10

Kentucky Route 9 (KY 9) is a state highway maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The route runs from Newport (a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio) to Grayson, roughly paralleling the Ohio River between Newport and Vanceburg.

Most of its route, from the Interstate 275 loop at Wilder to Grayson, is also known as the AA Highway (officially, the "John Y. Brown, Jr. AA Highway"). KY 10 forms a branch of the AA Highway between Vanceburg and the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge in Grays Branch, near Greenup.

Route description

The AA Highway follows a general northwest-southeast orientation. For most of its length, the AA Highway is a two lane road that passes through a sparsely populated rural area of Northern Kentucky. While the highway passes through terrain that is rolling to hilly, the highway is generally level with moderate grades and no steep grades. Except for Carter County, all counties that the AA Highway passes through border the Ohio River. The only municipalities on the highway are Vanceburg and Maysville and suburban areas of Cincinnati at its western terminus. Those areas are also the only areas with any services used by motorists such as motels, gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, etc. The only traffic signals on the AA Highway are near Maysville (along a commercial strip with many retail establishments and restaurants), suburban Cincinnati, and at its eastern terminus just north of Interstate 64 near Grayson. There are no rest areas on the AA Highway. Other than the portions that traverse the edge of Maysville and enter suburban Cincinnati, there are no shopping centers or major retail stores along the AA Highway.

While the AA highway is not an expressway, it nonetheless serves as the shortest highway link between Cincinnati and Ashland, Kentucky. As such, it provides a link between Cincinnati and other Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, and Dayton and cities south and east of Ashland such as Huntington and Charleston in West Virginia, Charlottesville and Richmond in Virginia, and Charlotte and Winston-Salem in North Carolina.

High accident rate

The AA Highway is a rural two-lane highway for most of its length and traverses through some desolate terrain.[2] Driver inattention and speeding, in combination with the numerous side road entrances and at-grade intersections have made it a dangerous and deadly road. To address these issues, guide signs comparable to interstate-styled signs have been installed along the highway at major intersections, along with additional overhead lighting. Other measures to improve safety and increase capacity are under consideration.

History

The AA Highway was envisioned as a modern highway from Alexandria to Ashland.[3]

Construction began in 1985 on the first segment of the AA Highway.[3] Estimated to cost $266 million to complete, it was designed primarily as a two-lane controlled-access facility. The first phase included the construction of 86 miles (138 km) of the AA Highway from the junction of Interstate 275 and Licking Pike (existing KY 9) in Campbell County east to Vanceburg. The first phase also included the design of two twenty-five mile-long spurs running east from Vanceburg, one ending at US 23 near Lloyd and the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge, the other ending near Interstate 64 in Grayson.

A view of KY9/10 entering Maysville at the intersection of KY9/10 with U.S. 68 & U.S. 62

When construction began, the costs for the first phase had risen to $292.7 million;[3] the state had sold $300 million in bonds to pay for it. Segments of the highway, from Clarksburg just west of Vanceburg to Tollesboro was routed on an earlier relocated alignment of KY 10.

It officially opened in 1995, however, it was not formally dedicated until 2003.

AA Highway/KY 10 in Greenup County, Kentucky
AA Highway/KY 10 in Greenup County, Kentucky

Numbering quagmire

The AA Highway including the Greenup spur was originally designated as KY 546, and the Grayson spur was signed as KY 694. On May 26, 1988, the designation, "AA Highway," was proposed to be signed along with KY 546 and KY 694. A few years later, this designation was put in place with the AA Highway being co-signed with KY 546 and KY 694, however, many motorists were soon confused by the ever changing designations.

To solve this issue, the AA Highway was renumbered in late-1995. The AA Highway including the Grayson spur was renumbered KY 9, and the Greenup spur was renumbered as KY 10. KY 10 also overlaps portions of the AA Highway throughout the entire highway's existence. Old KY 9 in Campbell county was renumbered as KY 915, and old KY 10 between Vanceburg and South Portsmouth was redesignated as KY 8.

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Carter 0.0000.000 KY 1 / KY 7 to I-64 Grayson, Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, Grayson Lake State ParkSouthern terminus
 1.0781.735 KY 1959
 5.4868.829 KY 7 southSouthern end of KY 7 overlap
 6.49810.458 KY 7 north – Carter CityNorthern end of KY 7 overlap
 11.32418.224 KY 2 / KY 7 – Carter City
 12.82120.633 KY 1773 eastNorthern terminus of KY 1773
Lewis 22.69036.516 KY 1149 southSouthern end of KY 1149 overlap
 22.89936.852 KY 1306 northWestern terminus of KY 1306
 26.31042.342 KY 10 (AA Hwy.) east South Shore, Greenup, AshlandSouthern end of KY 10 overlap
 27.26543.879 KY 1149 northNorthern end of KY 1149 overlap
Vanceburg29.46747.423 KY 59 Olive Hill, Vanceburg
 31.01149.907 KY 2523 northSouthern terminus of KY 2523
Clarksburg32.82752.830 KY 3037 northSouthern terminus of KY 3037
Charters36.81559.248 KY 989 southNorthern terminus of KY 989
Ribolt42.51868.426 KY 10 westNorthern end of KY 10 overlap
 46.64275.063 KY 57 Flemingsburg, Tollesboro
Mason 49.68579.960 KY 1234 eastSouthern end of KY 1234 overlap
 50.07880.593 KY 1237
 50.22280.824 KY 1234 westNorthern end of KY 1234 overlap
 50.97982.043 KY 3161 northSouthern terminus of KY 3161
 53.26185.715 KY 1449 Orangeburg
 55.95590.051 KY 3313
 56.83291.462 KY 1448 eastSouthern end of KY 1448 overlap
Maysville57.04091.797 KY 11 / KY 1448 west Flemingsburg, MaysvilleNorthern end of KY 1448 overlap
58.45194.068 KY 1448
59.73696.136
US 62 / US 68 Bus. / KY 10 east Lexington, Maysville
south end of KY 10 overlap
61.87599.578 US 68 Lexington, Aberdeen, OH, Ripley, OHinterchange
 65.378105.216 KY 3056 eastWestern terminus of KY 3056
 65.606105.583 KY 10 west GermantownNorthern end of KY 10 overlap
 66.545107.094 KY 435 Minerva
Bracken 72.799117.159 KY 2370 (Dutch Ridge Road)
 74.567120.004 KY 19 Brooksville, Augusta, Mount Olivet, Augusta Historic District
 76.772123.553 KY 875 – Chatham, Gertrude
Woolcott79.280127.589 KY 1159 Brooksville, Mount Olivet
 82.606132.941 KY 1109 Bradford, Johnsville
 85.877138.206 KY 1019 Lenoxburg, Foster
 87.830141.349 KY 2228 east to KY 8 FosterWestern terminus of KY 2228
Pendleton 89.174143.512 KY 159 south Kincaid Lake State ParkNorthern terminus of KY 159
 91.711147.595 KY 154 to KY 8 Peach Grove
Campbell 93.717150.823 KY 2828 east (Ivor Road) CarntownWestern terminus of KY 2828
Flagg Spring94.941152.793 KY 735 to KY 10 Mentor
 99.316159.834 KY 1996 (Carthage Road)
 101.238162.927 KY 1997 to KY 10 / KY 547
 103.405166.414 KY 547 Alexandria, Silver Groveinterchange
 105.348169.541 KY 709 west (East Alexandria Pike)
Cold Spring107.148172.438 US 27interchange (exit 14)
109.337175.961 KY 915 south (Licking Pike) to KY 10Northern terminus of KY 915
Wilder109.755176.634 KY 1998 eastWestern terminus of KY 1998
111.037178.697 I-275 to I-71 / I-75 / I-471 AirportI-275 exit 77; north end of AA Highway
113.196182.171 KY 2345 east (Johns Hill Road)Northern terminus of KY 2345
113.400182.500 KY 1632 east (Moock Road)Western terminus of KY 1632
Newport115.666186.146 KY 1120 (West Eleventh Street)
116.231187.056 KY 8 east (5th Street)
116.285187.143 KY 8 west (4th Street)Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Future

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is proposing widening and correcting some deficiencies and addressing growing traffic concerns along the AA Highway from its western terminus near Covington to Maysville.[2] Several options are being considered, such as: removing some of the at-grade intersections, widening to four lanes from two with partial control access, and full control access.

The AA Highway widening study was undertaken. Many residents and users of the road were concerned about intersection safety, while others discussed the high volume of traffic and the lack of passing lanes. Four alternatives were considered:

Two median types were considered: a concrete barrier wall and a depressed grass median. Mountable medians in rural areas are not recommended. With each median type option, there would be 12-foot (3.7 m) travel lanes and 12-foot (3.7 m) shoulders. The depressed grass median would be 40 to 60 feet (18 m), separating the two opposing traffic flows effectively. Due to the high speed of travel, access control with a minimum of 12,000 feet (3,700 m) is recommended for the limited access alternate.

Also under consideration is using the existing alignment of the AA Highway as the eastward continuation of Interstate 74 from Cincinnati to Grayson, where it would connect with Interstate 64. This would necessitate adoption of Alternate Four described above.

References

  1. Division of Planning. "Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Highway Information System. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Possible KY 9 Improvements. Division of Planning. 2004 . Archived August 4, 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 1 2 3 Davis, Merlene. "SEVERAL PROJECTS HELPING TO EASE AREA'S TRAFFIC WOES." Herald-Leader [Lexington] 27 Jan. 1985. 10 Jan. 2007.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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