I-66 Critics Express fear for Environment

[L Roebuck]

second in a two-part series
I-66 critics express fear for environment
Forest, river, cave system cited in Laurel and Pulaski
By R. G. Dunlop, The Courier-Journal

Caves underlying the proposed route are inhabited by many species of rare invertebrates, which could be harmed by chemicals and other pollutants washing off the highway and into the groundwater of Pulaski County's delicate karst terrain.

Blasting and excavation could trigger sinkholes, altering drainage patterns and groundwater flow.

Blockages in the area's massive underground drainage system -- known as Sinking Valley -- could cause flooding, undermining the new road and creating more sinkholes.

Those concerns are drawn directly from the 456-page draft environmental impact statement for I-66, submitted in May 2006 by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and approved by the Federal Highway Administration, the two government agencies spearheading plans to build the highway.

They provide evidence of the environmental challenges that would have to be overcome to safely build the proposed 28-mile stretch of I-66 through Pulaski and Laurel counties, supplanting the existing Ky. 80, which would remain in service.

The area that would be affected by the new road "harbors one of the most highly diverse cave fauna in the world," said Thomas Barr, a retired professor of biological sciences at the University of Kentucky. "I can't imagine how an interstate highway can slice through it and not cause incalculable damage."

Full Article

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[plainasty]

Whats your opinion on this Lynn? Personally I am totally against I-66 I used to hope they would just forget they even proposed the road in the first place. The amount of blasting they will have to do will inevetably cause cave ins amongst other things. The land around here cant handle the amount of weight that will be placed on land. But i'm sure there was someone who had the same opinion about the dam when they began to build it. So what will they do? Pump concrete into all of the karsts around here? Phew this subject upsets me quite a bit lol.

[Azurerana]

There has been an extensive protest against I-66 for at least 10 years that I know of.

In an engineering tug of war between humans and nature, nature will inevitably win in the long run. The issue isn't that we should do away with human infrastructure, or that we should, but that we need to learn to work with what is there. It comes down to this: do we believe nature is good, or evil, and needs to be controlled? Nature, of course, is neither, it just is.

Even if people would have listened to the margarine commercials in the 1960s, ("It's not nice to fool mother nature") they could have gotten a clue. But people keep inventing grand schemes and she keeps kiboshing them. There probably are more reasonable ways to move people across the country than interstate highways, but so far, no one wants to hear about them. And no doubt, there are greener ways to build highways and dams than by brute force like we do now.

Hey, instead of saying 'no highway' why can't we come up with reasonable alternatives, like "no highway right there, near Short Creek?"

Help find and suggest the win-wins, and these sorts of problems will go away eventually. Or, they'll go away suddenly, when the engineering fails. And check your candidates thoughts on such things like this, instead the usual bread and circuses they promise.

[plainasty]

azurerana said:

Hey, instead of saying 'no highway' why can't we come up with reasonable alternatives, like "no highway right there, near Short Creek?"

Help find and suggest the win-wins, and these sorts of problems will go away eventually. Or, they'll go away suddenly, when the engineering fails. And check your candidates thoughts on such things like this, instead the usual bread and circuses they promise.

You pose a good point, I need to look into who I need to contact in order to atleast become more educated on the matter. Instead of just ranting

[L Roebuck]

I do agree with Az there should be a reasonable solution...like simply....moving the highway. Several of us cavers worked with TDOT a few years ago - if they had continued the widening plan for the road...they would have bulldozed into the top of a cave (about a 60 ft drop). To make a long story - when TDOT gets funding, the road widening plan has been modified and the road moved so it will not impact the cave and it avoids any potential harm to the workers.

I need more coffee but here's a few links that may help you learn more about this topic.

members.aol.com/caveconser/page1.htm
www.stoptranspark.org/advisors.html
keepinc.org/
www.geocities.com/kick66org/

[madratdan]

Wow.....those are some great links Lynn. I enjoyed drinking my coffee while reading them.