 Cumberland Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway | |
 | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained byKYTC | |
| Length | 88.376 mi[1] (142.227 km) |
| Existed | 1972–present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end |  I-65 nearPark City |
| Major intersections | |
| East end |  US 27 inSomerset |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| Counties | Barren,Metcalfe,Adair,Russell,Pulaski |
| Highway system | |
| |
TheLouie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway is a 88.4-mile (142.3 km)freeway in theU.S. state ofKentucky, extending fromBarren County in the west toSomerset in the east. It is one of seven named highways designated in Kentucky'sparkway system.
The expressway begins atInterstate 65 (exit 43) interchange betweenSmiths Grove andPark City. It travels east through rolling farmland to its eastern terminus atUS 27 on the north side of Somerset. The road parallelsKentucky Route 80 for its entire length. The expressway passes the cities ofGlasgow,Edmonton,Columbia, andRussell Springs. It passes near two popular state parks:Lake Cumberland State Resort Park andBarren River Lake State Resort Park. The length of the expressway is designated unsignedKentucky Route 9008 (LN 9008).
The road is named afterLouie Nunn, a formerKentucky governor from Barren County, who was instrumental in the road's creation. Originally called the Cumberland Parkway from its opening in 1972–1973, it was renamed for Nunn in 2000.[2]
The Nunn Parkway, as with all nine parkways, was originally a toll road. By Kentucky state law, toll collection ceases when enough toll has been collected or funds received from other sources, such as a legislative appropriation, to pay off the construction bonds for the parkway. In the case of the Nunn, toll booths were removed in 2003 because of a bill in theUnited States Congress sponsored byHal Rogers (R-KY), which included an appropriation to pay off the bonds on the parkway, as well as those of theDaniel Boone Parkway in southeastern Kentucky. The statelegislature then renamed the Boone Parkway for Rogers, which sparked controversy among residents of the region and the offspring ofBoone. Nunn tried to calm the controversy by suggesting the state rename the Nunn Parkway for Rogers instead, restoring the Boone name, saying that the Cumberland Parkway had been named for Nunn without his consent.[citation needed]
The parkway had three toll plazas upon opening in 1973. A fourth one opened at the Nancy exit on the eastbound on-ramp and westbound off-ramp when that interchange opened in the 1980s.
| Exit or MM | Location[3] | Through cars charge | Enter east or leave west | Enter west or leave east | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | nearBon Ayr (Barren County) | 30 cents | N/A | Toll Plaza office originally located on Oak Grove Church Road offKY 255 | |
| 27 | Edmonton | 80 cents | 50 cents | 30 cents | |
| 62 | Russell Springs | 90 cents | 60 cents | 30 cents | |
| 78 | Nancy (Pulaski County) | Free | 20 cents[4] | Free | |
Presumably, the Nunn Parkway was built toInterstate Highway standards at its time of construction aside from some at-grade intersections and traffic signals near its east end, which were eliminated in 2010 by constructing a northwestern bypass around Somerset. The old routing was utilized as part of the construction projected that rerouted bothKentucky Route 80 andKentucky Route 914. The east end of the expressway is currently apartial cloverleaf atUS 27. The bypass was constructed as part of the now-cancelledI-66 proposed extension through Kentucky.[1]
On May 28, 2015, a new interchange was opened west of Glasgow to serve the western extension of the Veterans Outer Loop. The eastern extension of that road has been opened in early 2012, complete with the opening of exit 15, which serves the eastern extension of Veterans Outer Loop, designated atKY 1519. The state highway designation for the western extension was announced asKentucky Route 3600. Upon completion of the new western extension of the Veterans Outer Loop, it includes the new on- and off-ramps of the Cumberland Expressway, and a new at-grade intersection withKentucky Route 1297.[5][6][7][8][9]
The Glasgow interchange is one of seven new interchanges that have opened along the expressway since 2010. Another interchange is proposed atKentucky Route 249 as well.[1]
In 2021, state legislation renamed the then Cumberland Parkway to an expressway. Road signage has, as of 2024, not been updated to reflect this change.[citation needed]
 Interstate 365 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Park City–Somerset |
| Length | 88.376 mi[1] (142.227 km) |
On August 5, 2021, Congress released a new infrastructure bill that proposed to designate the whole length of the Cumberland Expressway as a Future Interstate, with the designation of I-365.[10] The designation would need approval from AASHTO, the FHWA, and upgrades of several interchanges and some improvements before the designation could be implemented.[1]
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barren | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1A-B | I-65 –Bowling Green,Nashville,Elizabethtown,Louisville | Western terminus; I-65 exit 43; signed as exits 1A (north) & 1B (south);trumpet interchange. |
| Glasgow | 8.7 | 14.0 | 8 |    KY 3600 (Veterans Outer Loop) toKY 90 –Glasgow,Cave City | Opened May 28, 2015 | |
| 11.4 | 18.3 | 11 |  US 31E –Glasgow,Scottsville | |||
| 12.904 | 20.767 |  KY 249 | Proposed interchange[1] | |||
| 14.0 | 22.5 | 14 | KY 90 –Glasgow,Burkesville | |||
| 15.3 | 24.6 | 15 |   KY 1519 (Veterans Outer Loop) toUS 68 –Glasgow | Constructed in the 2011-12 fiscal year[1] | ||
| Metcalfe | Edmonton | 27.4 | 44.1 | 27 |  US 68 /KY 80 –Edmonton | Cloverleaf interchange; will be reconfigured to a standard diamond[1] |
| 29.7 | 47.8 | 29 |  US 68 toKY 3524 –Edmonton,Greensburg | Completed October 28, 2013[11] | ||
| Adair | Columbia | 46.0 | 74.0 | 46 |  KY 61 –Columbia,Burkesville | |
| 48.8 | 78.5 | 49 |  KY 55 –Columbia | |||
| Russell | Russell Springs | 62.4 | 100.4 | 62 |  US 127 –Jamestown,Russell Springs | Originally a cloverleaf interchange; reconstructed as a diamond interchange in 2015[1] |
| | 70.7 | 113.8 | 70 |  KY 910 –Eli | Opened in 2019[12] | |
| Pulaski | | 78.3 | 126.0 | 78 | KY 80 –Nancy | |
| Somerset | 86.1 | 138.6 | 86 |   KY 914 east toKY 80 –Somerset,Burnside,London | Opened in 2010[1] | |
| 88.2 | 141.9 | 88 | US 27 –Somerset,Lexington | Opened in 2010;Partial Cloverleaf interchange; signed as exits 88A (south) and 88B (north); eastern terminus of parkway,ghost ramps exist[1] | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
