When the Corps of Engineers created Fishtrap Lake in Pike County, existing road connectivity to several small communities was impacted. The residents of Upper Pompey currently have a long, circuitous commute to Pikeville, the county seat. In 2011, the Pike County Fiscal Court received $2.2 Million in funds through KYTC to connect the dead end road at Upper Pompey to the existing Fishtrap Road that crosses the dam and ends at the Lake near the boat ramp. This new connection will significantly reduce the commute to Pikeville, the county seat, and improve access for critical services such as fire and police.
The goal of this project was to construct a 1.73 mile road from Fishtrap Road near the existing boat ramp to Upper Pompey Road near the USACE property line, as well as to improve boat ramp recreational area to safely separate it from the new through traffic. A narrow template was selected for this very low volume road to minimize cost and environmental impact to the undisturbed area around the lake, managed by USACE and KDFWR. A 14’ wide paved road allowed us to minimize earthwork and highwall cuts along the 1.5:1 existing slopes. The road was designed to be above the flood storage area of the lake. Excess material was placed within USACE property, but also outside the lake flood storage area.
The project was divided into four segments and two phases due to funding availability. Phase I of the project was funded by the initial KYTC grant, and completed Segments 2 and 4 to subgrade elevation with a temporary haul road in between. This phase included installation of multiple drainage structures including an 8’ x 6’ box culvert. Phase II is underway, and will complete the project by constructing the remaining segments to subgrade, reconfiguring the boat ramp and parking area, and surfacing the road. Construction is expected to begin in Summer 2018 and completed in Spring 2019.
