Temporary closure will help improve safety, drainage at SPEDA Commerce Park
A small section of Barnesburg Road in front of the future SPEDA Commerce Park in eastern Pulaski County will close for three weeks starting Monday, October 23, to improve safety and drainage in the area as a result of construction.
Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) President and CEO Chris Girdler said while he understands residents and businesses in the area will be inconvenienced because of this closure, it is necessary to mitigate future problems in the area as commerce park construction gets underway.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to residents and business owners in the Barnesburg Road area for their understanding and patience,” Girdler said. “This very temporary road closure will improve overall safety near SPEDA Commerce Park and I believe the community will come to appreciate the work we are doing to ensure our infrastructure can support the development that is coming to this area. We will experience some short-term pain for long-term gain, but it will be worth it in the end.”
During this closure — which will be between Pine Hill Road and Barnesburg Spur Road and last from Oct. 23 to Nov. 13 — residents of South Harper Road, Mark Welborne Road, North Harper Road and Gastineau Road will need to turn left onto Barnesburg Road and travel west to Ky. 461, then turn right on Ky. 461 and travel south to the junction with Ky. 80 to Somerset or London. Residents of Barnesburg Spur Road will turn right onto Barnesburg Road, and then follow the same instructions.
SPEDA will soon enter Phase 3 of construction at SPEDA Commerce Park, a 142-acre certified build-ready development formerly known as the Garner property in the Pine Hill and Barnesburg Road area. The organization announced in July that it received $1.58 million in Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KDPI) grant funding to advance the development of the park, which has put several projects on the fast track before winter to ensure the park maintains its certified build-ready designation.
The park’s first tenant, the Kentucky National Guard, announced in 2020 its intentions to build a new regional readiness center and field maintenance shop on 18 acres. Since then, SPEDA has sold 11 acres at the park to a private developer who intends to build a large-scale commercial and retail complex facing Ky. 80.
Complemented by a $70 million federal road project that includes a cloverleaf intersection at Ky. 461 and Ky. 80 and expanded four-lane road access — as well as the park’s adjacency to Valley Oak Commerce Complex — SPEDA Commerce Park has the potential to make eastern Pulaski County the epicenter for manufacturing, industrial, commercial and retail development in the Lake Cumberland region, Girdler said.
“We’re making up for lost time with this project, given that this is the first industrial park to be built in Somerset-Pulaski County in more than 25 years,” Girdler said. “We’re excitedto get started so that we can begin to see the fruits of our labor, as we have spent the last four years seeking grant funding and obtaining build-ready certification from the state economic cabinet. We’re finally ready to move forward, and this project is going to be a huge boon for our community.”