Kentucky Department of Transportation representative Robert Perkins addressed Bell Fiscal Court on Tuesday to discuss the Rural Secondary Road Program recommendations for fiscal year 2014.

According to Perkins, funds allotted to Bell County total $1,492,390. Of that, the proposed maintenance amount was $540,300. The judge-executive expenses were $3,862.

The total amount left for projects was $948,228. Of the remaining funds, $202,268 was set aside for flex funds which will be used on roads not maintained by the department of transportation and asphalt.

The total amount of money for the transportation cabinet to use to establish projects is $745,960.

The cabinet is looking at several locations for projects including KY 3486 (Old Pineville Pike), KY 441 (Noetown Road), KY 225 and KY 535 (backside of Fonde Mountain).

Guardrails were discussed during the meeting. In the wake of the fatal accident on Fonde Mountain Tuesday that claimed one life, Judge-Executive Albey Brock stated Fonde Mountain is an area the court has attempted to get guardrails installed on previously.

Perkins explained there is a system used to determine which areas need guardrails. Certain areas are placed in the guardrail database program and prioritized based on several factors.

Two main factors considered on prioritizing areas for guardrail installation are funding and traffic count.

“The state representative and myself, in the past, have lobbied to try to get guardrails on Fonde Mountain… the reason that we haven’t is the formula tends to kick us down the list because there is not enough traffic volume traveling across Fonde Mountain to get us to rank,” said Brock.

Brock and the fiscal court agreed to put surplus funding from the Secondary Road Program toward getting guardrails installed on Fonde Mountain. However, the guardrail database program must still prioritize the area higher on the list before guardrails would be installed.

Anthony Cloud can be reached via email at acloud@civitasmedia.com or by phone at 606-248-1010, ext. 208.