NEWS FROM BALLARD COUNTY

Ballard County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner

October 17, 2023

6:30pm – 8:00pm – Doors open at 6:00pm

Speaker:  Tim Adams, BMHS Principal 

Event Location: 

Grace United Methodist Church

3752 Paducah Road

LaCenter, KY 42056

Catered By:

Ballard County Community Survey

We would like to invite you to  participate in our community survey. This is a great opportunity for you to voice your opinion! Click on the button below to be taken to the online survey.

Add Your Business To The NEW Kentucky Great River Road Website Directory

We are excited to announce the re-launch and re-branding of the Kentucky Great River Region Organization with a new logo and a new website at www.KYGRRO.com

One of the new features on the site allows local businesses to add their own information, picture, and a small description along with your contact information, website link and links to your social media accounts.

Another feature allows for individuals, businesses and other organizations to post upcoming community events to the site.

Please utilize these two features. It is COMPLETELY FREE for you to use and benefits you as well. Once either are submitted, we will double check the information and approve it to be posted.

We are asking local businesses to PLEASE upload their information on the new site as soon as possible.  Go to www.KYGRRO.com and click “Add Your Business”.

A few requirements for adding your business…

• Business must be located in Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton or Hickman counties.
• Business must fall under one of the following categories: Attractions, Dining, Lodging or Shopping.
• Businesses must upload a logo or photo to be displayed.

Ballard County Welcomes Eight New Asian Carp-related Businesses

What was considered a threat to western Kentucky’s aquatic environments is turning out to be a net gain for Ballard County. The area celebrated the imminent arrival of eight new businesses related to Asian carp and river fish in its Kentucky International Industrial Fish Park during a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday at Fort Jefferson Park and Memorial Cross in Wickliffe.

These new businesses will fill out the 72-acre industrial park, joining anchor business Two River Fisheries and Novaland Group. The park will be full to the gills, with every property tract now sold. The new ventures include the River Sun Group, Two Rivers Travel, United Fisheries Group, Express Fishing and Sports, Fishing LLC, Magasam, Asian Carp Arts and Honcoop Pet Foods. All of these businesses harvest or process carp and river fish or serve to promote and market the industry.

“Angie (Yu) and her team took the lemons of the invasive carp species and made lemonade,” Ballard County Judge-Executive Todd Cooper told the crowd of 50 or so business people and county residents. “More than 25 year ago, Ballard County Fiscal Court and the Ballard County economic board partnered together and bought a 72-acre tract of property in Wickliffe … that developed into what is now known as the Kentucky International Industrial Fish Park. And a lot of work went into that park.”

SUPPORT NEEDED – US 51 Bridge Replacement Project

The purpose of the US 51 Bridge Project is to improve cross river mobility between Wickliffe, Kentucky and Cairo, Illinois, by addressing the safety and reliability issues caused by the narrow lane widths, lack of shoulders and tight curve of the existing bridge and its approaches. 

The US 51 Bridge is the longest bridge in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the westernmost crossing of the Ohio River. The existing bridge deck is 22.5 ft wide with narrow 10 ft lanes and 1.25 ft shoulders and does not accommodate pedestrians.

The 2013 planning study also noted inadequate vehicle headlight sight distance and a tight horizontal curve on the Kentucky approach which does not meet national or state design standards. Between October 2008 and September 2012, there were 18 vehicle crashes on the bridge between the 20- mph curve in Kentucky and the US 60/US 51 intersection in Illinois. Of these crashes, there were no fatalities and one injury collision. The crashes were largely concentrated at either end of the bridge. The primary crash types
were sideswipes and single-vehicle collisions.

The bridge was designed before much was known about earthquake engineering. However, the New Madrid fault line underlies this geographic area. Applying current seismic design criteria, preliminary estimates indicate that severe damage or
collapse is probable in the event of a major earthquake

Currently, the bridge does not allow oversize or overweight permit loads. 

For more information on the project, visit https://us51bridge.com

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