County road department hosts public hearing to discuss Ritters Mill

By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1

As the sun cast its customary orange hues across the green farmlands around Temple Hill, roughly two dozen Barren Countians filed into the small cafeteria of Temple Hill Elementary to discuss upcoming road work on Ritters Mill Road.

Jamie DeGroft, Barren County Road Department supervisor, said that due to the prolonged road closure that would be caused by the project a public hearing was typical to inform those in the community of the plan and so one was held on April 22 at the elementary school closest to the affected population.

Ritters Mill Road is located south of Glasgow and connects Temple Hill Road with Ky. 63 — which is also referred to as Cordell Hull Highway. During heavy rain — or any amount of rain, according to county Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd — the section of the road that crosses over the creek has the tendency to flood and become impassable.

During a specially called meeting of the Barren County Fiscal Court on Nov. 6, 2023 a bid for the project was approved. The approved bid was from Scott & Murphy Inc. for $528,377, though, Byrd said, American Engineers helped during the design process.

Twenty-six people took their seats as Chris Proffitt, executive vice president of the company, explained the design and time table of the new box culvert.

According to Proffitt the design is 24 feet wide, guardrails, be able to handle the “standard weight of a Kentucky state road”  and eight foot by five foot concrete “boxes” that would allow creek water to pass through without affecting the roadway with a 12 inch thick slab of concrete spanning the creek length

“It’ll be able to take a lot more water then it can now,” Proffitt said. “If you get a flood; a moderate size flood, this is designed to still [have water] go over the top of it, but it’ll be anchored down in the rock.”

He said he anticipated work to begin in the middle of June — though he had yet to set a specific date given work being done on another project, but would inform the county when it had — with the construction taking roughly eight weeks. During that time period the road would be closed.

While he said the construction would take eight weeks, he said the weather could cause delays.

“If there’s flood waters we’re going to get out of there,” Proffitt said. “That happens a lot of the times and it delays us obviously. You can’t fight mother nature.”

Towards the end of the 20 minute public hearing Tim Durham, magistrate for Barren County district 3 of which Temple Hill is a part of, spoke to the assembled group expressing his thanks and excitement for the improvement.

“I’m excited about the bridge…it’s going to help the community so much,” Durham said. “It’s going to be a big deal. We will have to shut the road down for eight weeks but we’ve had to close it that much from floods so eight weeks ain’t nothing for what we’re going to get out of this.”

Byrd said part of the funds came from a Frankfort flood grant match program.