Replies

The highway formerly known as the Daniel Boone Parkway connects London and Hazard in southeastern Kentucky. Like Kentucky’s other parkways, it was conceived as a toll road and operated as such from its opening in 1974 until June 1, 2003 when tolls were lifted. In early 2003, U.S. Representative Hal Rogers used his chairman position on a house appropriations subcommittee to have money to pay off the remaining bonds on the parkway included in the federal budget. To thank Rogers for this and other contributions to Kentucky, then-Governor Paul Patton issued an executive renaming the parkway the Hal Rogers Parkway.

Gov. Patton’s move to rename the parkway generated a great deal of controversy among Kentucky residents and descendants of Daniel Boone who were offended that name of Kentucky’s most famous early pioneer was to be removed and replaced with the name of a sitting congressman. The Associated Press picked up the story of the renaming and the subsequent outrage, and soon the story was being reported in newspapers as far away as the United Kingdom and was mentioned on the CNN show Crossfire.

After the tolls were removed, the transportation cabinet was quick to dismantle the three toll booths and replace the old Daniel Boone Parkway signs with new Hal Rogers Parkway signs. The toll booths at exits 34 and 44 were converted into at-grade T-intersections. There was no cross route at the London toll booth, so after the toll booth was dismantled it became little more than a bump in the road.

Unlike Kentucky’s other parkways, this parkway is almost entirely two lanes. Between the intersection with KY 192 in London and the intersection with KY 80 near Hazard, the parkway is a two-lane undivided highway. There are occasional passing and hill climbing lanes. Except for the at-grade intersections at the former toll booth locations, the highway is fully graded separated: this two-lane freeway configuration is known as a super-two . As an added safety feature, the parkway has rumble strips along the center line to help alert drivers who may be drifting into the oncoming lane.

Between the western terminus of the parkway at US 25 and the KY 192 intersection near the four mile mark, the parkway is four-lane surface street with a continuous left turn lane. Similarly, the parkway is a four-lane surface street with a continuous left turn lane for its last mile or so before its eastern terminus at the interchange with KY 80 and KY 15 near Hazard.

(from: http://www.kentuckyroads.com/daniel_boone_parkway/ )