Road Project on 743 On Track For September Completion

Between 100-110 loads of rock per day are being hauled in for the build-up of the new road.

If you've ever driven along KY Highway 743 (Chalybeate School Road) outside of school hours, you're lucky to meet another vehicle on your route. If you've ever driven the road during the morning or afternoon school rush, it can be an absolute nightmare. "Since we've been working on this project, we only see a handful of cars during the day outside of the school rush," said Darrin Escue, Foreman for Scotty's Contracting. He then shook his head and grinned.  "But during the morning and evening school hours, it's complete chaos."

Folks that travel to and from South Edmonson Elementary are looking forward for a much more open, straight, and safer path during these busy times. Escue said with 110 days until the projected completion date, Scotty's is on track and that so far, everything has worked out smoothly.

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The new construction will claim the front part of Chalybeate Church's parking lot.

Escue said that construction will be creeping into Chalybeate Church's parking lot within the month. "There's actually two new entrances that will be built (for the church). The old one will go away, but they'll always have access in and out pretty much at all times at either one access or another." The church has plans in place to redo the front porch with new sidewalks according to those new entrances.

Along with a different view at the church, the entrance of Denham Road will also get a face lift. Drivers have complained for years about pulling onto 743 from the small county road due to the large blind spots in both directions. "It's going to help Denham Road by leveling it out where it's not such an incline at the entrance," Escue said.

Escue said that the new road has been raised a total of 26 feet from the original highway at Kinser Cemetery. He said that it's taken between 100-110 loads of rock hauled in each day to reach that level. The road will be wider and have much wider shoulders to better accommodate school buses along the route. 

The new portion of the road will begin at the intersection of 743 and the old 101 (now 3611) and end just before the entrance of the Chalybeate Sports Complex. Escue said the plan was to keep the old route open throughout the entire construction process and that keeping the flow of traffic moving is a priority.

Darren Doyle
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