Section 4(f) Case Study: Paris Pike, Kentucky
Kentucky | Posted: November 1, 2005 |
4(f) Case Study - Paris Pike, KY |
The recent reconstruction of Paris Pike in Kentucky has become one of the most highly praised road projects in the country -- yet its distinctive 12 mile trip through the state`s Bluegrass region could have become just another generic strip of concrete though a once-scenic landscape.
When the Kentucky Department of Transportation first proposed widening the two-lane Paris Pike in the late 1960s, it recommended a four-lane divided highway that would have destroyed features such as historic stone walls and canopies of mature trees. Citizens responded by suing the Department of Transportation for failing to meet Section 4(f)`s requirement that the project avoid historic resources unless there was no "feasible and prudent alternative." The courts agreed and issued an injunction in 1979 that stopped work until the state complied with 4(f).
Seven years passed before Kentucky restarted its studies. Now, however, the Department of Transportation worked with farmers, conservationists, and other concerned citizens and developed a radical new approach to the road`s design -- one that maximized the preservation of the corridor`s character-defining features. This new, community-based process made enough progress that the injunction was lifted in 1993, and construction began soon after.
Though the new design also widened Paris Pike to four lanes, it was miles from the original. It saved most roadside trees and ran power lines around them; rebuilt 3.5 miles of stone wall; put wooden instead of metal railguards and grassy instead of gravel shoulders; bought a historic farmhouse at the road`s entrance for renovation as a tourist center; and left the winding route unchanged rather than following the usual practice of blasting straight through the hills. This approach won the project awards from amazingly varied source, including: the Federal Highway Administration, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the National Trust.
Paris Pike shows the value of Section 4(f) in two ways. It first stopped the original, insensitive plan; then, its enthusiastic embrace by the Kentucky DOT led to a beautiful project that respected the values of the community it served. The state has since adopted a similar approach to its other work, using it to protect historic places and build public support for new construction.
For more information:
Department of Public Policy
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusettes Ave., NW
policy@www.preservationnation.org
202-588-6255
