Kentucky Route 92 (KY 92) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. The route is split into two segments by

Lake Cumberland Lake Cumberland is a reservoir in Clinton, Pulaski, Russell, Wayne, and Laurel, counties in Kentucky. The primary reasons for its construction were a means for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power. Its shoreline measures ...

, one of a few state routes in Kentucky with two discontinued segments on both sides of a body of water. The western segment, which is , runs from

Kentucky Route 55 Kentucky Route 55 (KY 55) is a state highway in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The route originates at a junction with U.S. Route 127 in Freedom, Russell County. The route continues through Columbia in Adair County to U.S. Route 68 in ...

west of Joppa to a dead end on Lake Cumberland south of Jamestown via Joppa, Montpelier, Esto, and Jamestown. The eastern segment, which is , runs from a boat ramp on

northwest of

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

to U.S. Route 25E west of Fourmile via Monticello,

Barrier A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something. Barrier may also refer to: Places * Barrier, Kentucky, a community in the United States * Barrier, Voerendaal, a place in the municipality of Voerendaal, Netherl ...

, Stearns,

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

, Timsley, and Ingram. The building of Wolf Creek Dam and the subsequent creation of

divided the two portions of the road, as it did several other state highways in this portion of the state.

Route description

Western segment

In Adair County, KY 92 begins at a junction with KY 55 just southeast of Columbia. KY 92 goes into an east-southeasterly path into Russell County, and enters the city of Jamestown. it crosses

US 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near Gr ...

outside of town, and runs concurrently with US 127 Business within city limits up to the Russell County Courthouse. KY 92 continues southeastward to a boat ramp on the shore of

. This segment runs for a total of .

Eastern segment

KY 92 resumes at a dead end on the Beaver Creek shore of Lake Cumberland in western Wayne County. it then goes through the city of

, and then goes further southeast into McCreary County and into the

Daniel Boone National Forest The Daniel Boone National Forest (originally the Cumberland National Forest) is a national forest in Kentucky. Established in 1937, it includes of federally owned land within a proclamation boundary. The name of the forest was changed in 1966 ...

. The route provides road access to portions of the

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, commonly known as Big South Fork, preserves the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries in northeastern Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky. Within it are reminders of th ...

before reaching Stearns. it runs concurrently with US 27 for a few miles. KY 92 then turns eastward to go into Whitley County, where it provides access to

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

and

U.S. Route 25W U.S. Route 25W (US 25W) is the western branch of U.S. Route 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into U.S. Route 25E, US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. US 25W has been included in the U.S. Hig ...

at Williamsburg. KY 92 goes further east, almost running into Knox County, but instead crosses into Bell County and meets its eastern terminus at U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Pineville. This segment runs for .

History

Route 92 roughly follows an old railroad bed on its eastern approach to Williamsburg. The communities of Siler,

Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

, Gausdale, Nevisdale and Gatliff all are along the route between the Bell County line and Williamsburg. All of these communities were originally mining and or timber camps. In the timber years logs were floated down the Cumberland River which runs along the route to Williamsburg where they were picked up and sawed into lumber in mills. When the timber companies converted to coal production in the 1900s, railroads replaced the river in getting the product to market and as the truck began to invade the train's territory Route 92 took shape.

Relocation project

A particularly curvy section of Route 92 was replaced by a new road in November 2009 . Milepoints 4 to 11 in western Whitley County were superseded by the new road, which is designated Route 92. Portions of the old road that remain in service have been re-designated Route 2792, although maintenance is neglected and portions of the road are a danger to the general public. The project, begun in 2003, was completed by the

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining federal highways and Kentucky state highways, as well as regulating other transportation related issues. The Transportation Cabi ...

with the aid of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

. The project will eventually replace the road all the way to

U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...

in McCreary County. In 2012, the second phase was completed that relocated a new portion from U.S. Route 27 to Kentucky 592 on the western end of the project area. The final middle section is expected to be completed by 2015.

Major intersections

Western segment

Eastern segment

References

External links

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KentuckyRoads.com KY 92KentuckyRoads.com Images along KY 92
{Dead link, date=February 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes 0092 Transportation in Adair County, Kentucky Transportation in Bell County, Kentucky Transportation in McCreary County, Kentucky Transportation in Russell County, Kentucky Transportation in Wayne County, Kentucky Transportation in Whitley County, Kentucky