FORT MITCHELL — State highway department officials want to hear from the people who drive Ky. 9, the AA Highway, every day, so they are holding public information meetings at two gas stations on the highway.

        The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, responding to concerns about the number of accidents and fatalities on the stretch of Ky. 9 between Campbell County and Mason County over the past 10 years, is studying whether widening the highway is needed.

        The section being discussed is from western Mason County near the Bracken County line to southern Campbell County near the Pendleton County line.

        “We want input from the people who travel the highway,” said Larry Roberts, public relations manager for District Six of the state highway department in Fort Mitchell. “There has been concern about accidents. There is funding in the (highway department) budget for a study of the road, and the meetings are part of the study.”

        The first meeting will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Marathon station at the intersection of Ky. 9 and Ky. 2828 at the Campbell County/Pendleton County border. The second meeting will be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at the BP Food Mart at 4248 AA Highway (Ky. 9) in Mason County.

        Each meeting will feature an open exhibit area with maps showing the project area, traffic volumes, improvement alternatives, and other pertinent materials. Highway study officials will be available to answer questions and take comments from area residents, business owners and highway users.

        “We want everything up front, with plenty of citizen input, so any issues can be addressed in the planning process as the project develops,” Mr. Roberts said.

        A recent study by the Transportation Cabinet showed that Ky. 9, which runs 136 miles from Wilder to Grayson, has a higher percentage of fatal auto accidents than any other two-lane rural road in the state.

        In 1998, state legislators ordered the Transportation Cabinet to make recommendations for reducing accidents on the highway. One problem perceived by police and highway officials is the number of side roads that intersect Ky. 9, most of them without traffic signals.

        For those not able to attend either meeting, maps will be available for 15 days after the meetings at the highway district office in Elizaville Road in Flemingsburg and at District Six headquarters at 421 Buttermilk Pike in Fort Mitchell. Comments will be accepted for 15 days after the meetings by writing to Annette Coffey, director, Division of Planning, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, 125 Holmes Street, Frankfort, Ky., 40622.

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