- Pikeville Cut-Through
The Pikeville Cut-Through is a
rock cut inPikeville, Kentucky ,United States , through which pass a four-lanedivided highway (Corridor B , numbered as US 23, US 119, US 460, and KY 80), a railroad line (CSXBig Sandy Subdivision ), and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It is one of the largest land removal projects ever completed in thewestern hemisphere by theArmy Corps of Engineers , moving a nearly convert|18000000|cuyd|m3 [http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/2246914.html] of rock and dirt (compared to the Big Dig (15 million cubic yards) and thePanama Canal (240 million cubic yards)). The project was completed in 1987 after 14 years of work.Dr. William Hambley , who served as mayor of Pikeville for 29 years,Robert H Holcomb , Chamber of Commerce president, andHenry Stratton , local attorney, spearheaded the project, seeing it as the only way to eliminate the frequent flooding caused by the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. The river, which at one time snaked around the downtown area, was relocated through the Cut-Through, along with the highway and railroad. $77.6 million was spent on the project. Land reclamation from the old riverbed has significantly increased available space for development. As Pikeville is a city that was built mainly on a mountain, suitable developmental land is scarce, and the reclaimed land from the filled-in riverbed was a major addition to the town.External Links
[http://www.pikecountychamber.org/index.php?n=11&id=51 Cut-Through page on Pike Co. Chamber of Commerce site]
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