LTADD Engineering helps Green County secure bridge grant

Green County Judge/Executive John Frank announced that Green County Government has been awarded an $856,790 City-County Bridge Improvement Program (CCBIP) grant to reconstruct the Liletown Bridge over Greasy Creek. CCBIP is administered by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Department of Rural and Municipal Aid. The announcement was made by Governor Andy Beshear during his weekly press conference in Frankfort.

The bridge is on Liletown Road over Greasy Creek and connects traffic from US Highway 68 in southern Green County to KY Highway 218 near Pierce. Recently, the bridge’s load rating was downgraded to nine tons, significantly restricting traffic, specifically farm machinery. The surrounding area is primarily agricultural, and the load restrictions significantly impacted access and connectivity.

“Primarily, this request was made to upgrade this bridge’s integrity for our residents who use this bridge day in and day out,” said Judge/Executive Frank. “But this infrastructure is also essential to the agriculture community and the important impact they have on our economy. We are grateful that the transportation cabinet saw fit to award our request.”

CCBIP supports Kentucky counties and cities in maintaining, repairing, and replacing locally owned bridges. $25 million was designated for the program in each of the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years by the 2024 biennium state budget. Counties and cities are encouraged to apply for the funding, focusing on routine maintenance and early corrective action to minimize costly future needs, provide data and education to increase bridge longevity to local governments, and determine prioritization for replacement and/or repair.

Judge/Executive Frank also praised the important role of the area development districts to make this project happen. Green County is a member of the Lake Cumberland Area Development District (LCADD) that regularly collaborates with other area development districts. Recognizing Green County Government’s unique needs for the project, LCADD Executive Director Waylon Wright encouraged Judge/Executive Frank to seek out the help of the Lincoln Trail Area Development District (LTADD) Engineering for the CCBIP application process.

“As you can imagine, many cities and counties are interested in taking advantage of the limited amount of funds, but we knew the application process would be thorough,” Judge/Executive Frank said. “LTADD’s engineering division and specifically Charlie Allen played an important role in assessing the current state of the bridge, designing a concept, putting together the application, and helping us see the request through.”

LTADD Engineering Division Director Charlie Allen commented that the detailed grant process was well worth it in the end.

“We were grateful for the opportunity to help Judge Frank and the Green County Government secure the CCBIP grant,” Allen said. “Pursuing this application is in-depth and really needs an engineer’s touch, including assessment, design, CAD renderings, and the application process. We have been honored to help counties across our region and the commonwealth secure these necessary funds.”

During the design phase, LTADD Engineering had the opportunity to recommend a new structure that would reduce the bridge’s spans from three to one, eliminating future concerns of driftwood collecting under the structure, and disturbing water flow. The potential for driftwood collection was an issue LTADD Engineering identified during the assessment.

Following the award announcement, Green County Government, in collaboration with LTADD Engineering, hopes to put bridge construction out for bid in January 2026 with construction commencing in Spring 2026.