PRESTONSBURG — Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday joined local, state and federal officials to break ground on the final section of the Mountain Parkway Expansion – a 13-mile stretch of new four-lane highway that will connect Salyersville in Magoffin County to Prestonsburg in Floyd County.

The final segment, known as Magoffin-Floyd, is the last of six project segments to go to construction on the 45-mile, billion-dollar Mountain Parkway Expansion. The project is delivering a decades-long promise to complete the parkway and close the only remaining gap in a continuous, four-lane, high-speed corridor linking Eastern Kentucky to the rest of the commonwealth.

“Today, Team Kentucky is honored to be a part of a history-making moment – the start of the final chapter in completing the Mountain Parkway.” Gov. Beshear said. “This is about more than pavement – it’s about safer travel, better jobs, stronger communities and new opportunities for Eastern Kentucky. This is a project that has been talked about for decades, and while I’m not the first governor working to expand this vital highway, I’m determined to be the last.”

The Magoffin-Floyd segment is the longest of all the project segments and the only segment that is constructing a new roadway.  Construction will include design elements aimed at improving safety, reducing congestion and supporting efficient traffic flow:

•13 miles of new four-lane highway

•Multiple new bridge structures over waterways and existing roads

•A modern roundabout at the eastern terminus in Prestonsburg

•An estimated 30 million cubic yards of excavation