The Owensboro-Daviess County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has formally amended its Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to include a study evaluating the feasibility of a new interchange along I-165 in southern Daviess County. The project does not guarantee construction but will determine whether a new interchange is needed — and if so, where it might go.
“This is the study,” Director Tom Lovett said Tuesday during a recent MPO meeting. “We’ve hired a contractor, and we’re in the early stages of getting things moving. The first meeting was essentially just introductions, and we’re scheduling the next meeting now to begin real work.”
The study will be funded through a $200,000 grant, with $160,000 coming from the Federal Highway Administration. The remaining $40,000 local match was initially committed by Daviess County Fiscal Court earlier this year. However, the County successfully applied for a state grant to cover most of that cost.
“The state picked up about $38,000 of the local match, leaving the County with just $2,000 to contribute,” Lovett said. “That’s a huge win for local taxpayers.”
In order to begin the study, the MPO needed to formally amend the TIP — a document that outlines short-term transportation projects scheduled for the next four years.
The amendment process required a 15-day public comment period in January. Lovett said public input was collected both online and through physical copies placed at community locations. Supporters cited public safety, emergency response, traffic flow, and regional connectivity as reasons for backing the study. Some residents, however, voiced concerns about land use, potential disruption to family farms, and skepticism about whether the interchange is necessary.
The study itself was first proposed in 2024 as a way to potentially improve access to the southern part of the county.
Both the MPO’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and its Policy Committee — composed of Daviess County Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen, Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson, and KYTC District 2 Chief Engineer Deneatra Henderson — unanimously approved the amendment during a joint meeting Tuesday morning.
“We can’t fund or begin any project unless it’s in the TIP,” Lovett said. “This amendment not only adds the I-165 study, but it also allows us to include similar transportation and technical studies more efficiently in the future.”
The I-165 interchange study will use Planning (PL) funds allocated through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
No timeline has been set for when the study will be completed, but officials say getting the project included in the TIP is a significant step forward.
