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AA Highway

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AA Highway marker
John Y. Brown Jr. AA Highway
Alexandria to Augusta Highway
Map
AA Highway highlighted in red, including spurs
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length116.285 mi[1] (187.143 km)
Mainline (KY 9)
Length84.727 mi (136.355 km)
South end AA Hwy (KY 9) / AA Hwy (KY 10) near Vanceburg
Major intersections
North end KY 9 / I-275 in Wilder
Southern Spur (KY 9)
Length26.310 mi (42.342 km)
South end KY 1 / KY 7 in Grayson
North end AA Hwy (KY 9) / AA Hwy (KY 10) near Vanceburg
Eastern Spur (KY 10)
Length24.628 mi (39.635 km)
West end AA Hwy (KY 9) / AA Hwy (KY 10) near Vanceburg
East end US 23 near Greenup
Location
CountryUnited States
StateKentucky
CountiesGreenup, Carter, Lewis, Mason, Bracken, Pendleton, Campbell
Highway system
  • Kentucky State Highway System

The AA Highway is a 135.665-mile-long (218.332 km) state highway maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The mainline route parallels the Ohio River from Interstate 275 (I-275) in Wilder to Vanceburg; it is cosigned as Kentucky Route (KY 9). From Vanceburg, the highway splits into two routes, with the southern spur using the KY 9 designation and continuing to Grayson and I-64, and the eastern spur using the designation of KY 10 and continuing to Greenup. The AA is mostly a two-lane rural highway that provides the only direct connection between Ashland and Northern Kentucky, which includes Cincinnati.

The route name is a contraction of its earlier name of the Alexandria to Ashland Highway, which referenced two cities connected by the highway: Alexandria in Northern Kentucky and (via I-64) Ashland in Eastern Kentucky. The route is officially known as the John Y. Brown Jr. AA Highway, named for politician and entrepreneur.[2]

While the highway passes through terrain that is rolling to hilly, the highway is generally level with moderate grades and no steep grades. Except for Carter County, all counties that the AA Highway passes through border the Ohio River. While the AA Highway is not an expressway, it nonetheless serves as the shortest highway link between Cincinnati and Ashland, Kentucky. As such, it provides a link between Cincinnati and other Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, and Dayton and cities south and east of Ashland such as Huntington and Charleston in West Virginia, Charlottesville and Richmond in Virginia, and Charlotte and Winston-Salem in North Carolina.[citation needed]

The only municipalities on the highway are Vanceburg and Maysville and suburban areas of Cincinnati at its western terminus. Those areas are also the only areas with any services used by motorists such as motels, gas stations, restaurants, convenience stores, etc. The only traffic signals on the AA Highway are near Maysville (along a commercial strip with many retail establishments and restaurants), suburban Cincinnati, and at its eastern terminus just north of Interstate 64 near Grayson. There are no rest areas on the AA Highway. Other than the portions that traverse the edge of Maysville and enter suburban Cincinnati, there are no shopping centers or major retail stores along the AA Highway.[citation needed]

The AA Highway is a rural two-lane highway for most of its length and traverses through some desolate terrain.[3] Driver inattention and speeding, in combination with the numerous side road entrances and at-grade intersections have made it a dangerous and deadly road. To address these issues, guide signs comparable to interstate-styled signs have been installed along the highway at major intersections, along with additional overhead lighting. Other measures to improve safety and increase capacity are under consideration.[citation needed]

Route description

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The AA Highway follows a general northwest–southeast orientation. It begins at an interchange with I-275 in Wilder in Campbell County and is designated as KY 9–AA Highway. The route then passes the outskirts of its namesake Alexandria. Within Campbell County, the road is a four-lane arterial highway. Note that the KY 9 route begins about five miles (8.0 km) north in Newport before it is designated as the AA.

The next segment passes through a remote, hilly region where the road is generally three lanes, with a passing lane present at uphill grades.

A few miles west of Maysville, the highway runs concurrently with KY 10, and the road becomes an arterial highway again. The concurrency ends within Maysville, and upon passing out of the city, the road becomes a two-lane rural highway through an agricultural region.

KY 9 then crosses the Allegheny Escarpment into the Appalachian Mountains at the same time that another concurrency with KY 10 begins. The remainder of KY 9 passes through mountainous terrain and is generally two lanes with periodic passing lanes. After passing through Vanceburg, the AA Highway follows two routes. The first follows KY 9, which turns southeasterly away from the Ohio River and towards Grayson. The KY 9-AA Highway ends at an intersection with KY 1 and KY 7, which provides a short connection to I-64 and access to Ashland.

The second route follows KY 10, which continues to parallel the Ohio River. The AA Highway designation of KY 10 terminates at US Route 23 (US 23), which provides connections to Greenup and Ashland. The KY 10 route continues without the AA designation for about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) before terminating at the Ohio border on the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge.

History

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The AA Highway was envisioned as a modern highway from Alexandria to Ashland.[4]

Construction began in 1985 on the first segment of the AA Highway.[4] Estimated to cost $266 million (equivalent to $640 million in 2023[5]) to complete, it was designed primarily as a two-lane controlled-access facility. The first phase included the construction of 86 miles (138 km) of the AA Highway from the junction of I-275 and Licking Pike (existing KY 9) in Campbell County east to Vanceburg. The first phase also included the design of two 25-mile-long (40 km) spurs running east from Vanceburg, one ending at US 23 near Lloyd and the Jesse Stuart Memorial Bridge, the other ending near I-64 in Grayson.[citation needed]

When construction began, the costs for the first phase had risen to $292.7 million;[4] the state had sold $300 million in bonds to pay for it. Segments of the highway, from Clarksburg just west of Vanceburg to Tollesboro was routed on an earlier relocated alignment of KY 10.[citation needed]

It officially opened in 1995; however, it was not formally dedicated until 2003.[citation needed]

Numbering changes

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The AA Highway including the Greenup spur was originally designated as KY 546, and the Grayson spur was signed as KY 694. On May 26, 1988, the designation, "AA Highway", was proposed to be signed along with KY 546 and KY 694. A few years later, this designation was put in place with the AA Highway being co-signed with KY 546 and KY 694, however, many motorists were soon confused by the ever-changing designations.

To solve this issue, the AA Highway was renumbered in late 1995. The AA Highway including the Grayson spur was renumbered KY 9, and the Greenup spur was renumbered as KY 10. KY 10 also overlaps portions of the AA Highway throughout the entire highway's existence. Old KY 9 in Campbell County was renumbered as KY 915, and old KY 10 between Vanceburg and South Portsmouth was redesignated as KY 8.

Major intersections

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Mainline AA Highway

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CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Lewis26.31042.342


AA Hwy (KY 9) south / KY 1149 south to I-64 – Grayson

AA Hwy (KY 10) east – South Shore, Greenup, Ashland
Southern terminus of AA Highway mainline; AA Highway continues as southern spur designated KY 9 and eastern spur designated KY 10
27.26543.879
KY 1149 north
Northern end of KY 1149 concurrency
Vanceburg29.46747.423 KY 59 – Olive Hill, Vanceburg
31.01149.907
KY 2523 north
Southern terminus of KY 2523
Clarksburg32.82752.830
KY 3037 north
Southern terminus of KY 3037
Charters36.81559.248
KY 989 south
Northern terminus of KY 989
Ribolt42.51868.426
KY 10 west
Northern end of KY 10 concurrency
46.64275.063 KY 57 – Flemingsburg, Tollesboro
Mason49.68579.960
KY 1234 east
Southern end of KY 1234 concurrency
50.07880.593 KY 1237
50.22280.824
KY 1234 west
Northern end of KY 1234 concurrency
50.97982.043
KY 3161 north
Southern terminus of KY 3161
53.26185.715 KY 1449 – Orangeburg
55.95590.051 KY 3313
56.83291.462
KY 1448 east
Southern end of KY 1448 concurrency
Maysville57.04091.797
KY 11 / KY 1448 west – Flemingsburg, Maysville
Northern end of KY 1448 concurrency
58.45194.068 KY 1448
59.73696.136 US 62 / KY 10 – Lexington, MaysvilleSouthern end of KY 10 concurrency
61.87599.578 US 68 – Lexington, Aberdeen, OH, Ripley, OHInterchange
65.378105.216
KY 3056 east
Western terminus of KY 3056
65.606105.583
KY 10 west – Germantown
Northern end of KY 10 concurrency
66.545107.094 KY 435 – Minerva
Bracken72.799117.159 KY 2370 (Dutch Ridge Road)
74.567120.004 KY 19 – Brooksville, Augusta, Mount Olivet, Augusta Historic District
76.772123.553 KY 875 – Chatham, Gertrude
Woolcott79.280127.589 KY 1159 – Brooksville, Mount Olivet
82.606132.941 KY 1109 – Bradford, Johnsville
85.877138.206 KY 1019 – Lenoxburg, Foster
87.830141.349

KY 2228 east to KY 8 – Foster
Western terminus of KY 2228
Pendleton89.174143.512
KY 159 south – Kincaid Lake State Park
Northern terminus of KY 159
91.711147.595
KY 154 to KY 8 – Peach Grove
Campbell93.717150.823
KY 2828 east (Ivor Road) – Carntown
Western terminus of KY 2828
Flagg Spring94.941152.793
KY 735 to KY 10 – Mentor
99.316159.834 KY 1996 (Carthage Road)
101.238162.927

KY 1997 to KY 10 / KY 547
103.405166.414 KY 547 – Alexandria, Silver GroveInterchange
105.348169.541
KY 709 west (East Alexandria Pike)
Cold Spring107.148172.438 US 27Interchange (exit 14)
109.337175.961

KY 915 south (Licking Pike) to KY 10
Northern terminus of KY 915
Wilder109.755176.634
KY 1998 east
Western terminus of KY 1998
111.037178.697

I-275 east to I-471



I-275 west to I-71 – Airport


KY 9 north – Newport
I-275 exit 77; northern terminus of AA Highway; KY 9 continues north into Newport
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Southern spur (KY 9 to I-64)

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CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Carter0.0000.000
KY 1 / KY 7 to I-64 – Grayson, Greenbo Lake State Resort Park, Grayson Lake State Park
Southern terminus of KY 9 and southern spur of AA Highway
1.0781.735 KY 1959
5.4868.829
KY 7 south
Southern end of KY 7 concurrency
6.49810.458
KY 7 north – Carter City
Northern end of KY 7 concurrency
11.32418.224 KY 2 / KY 7 – Carter City
12.82120.633
KY 1773 east
Northern terminus of KY 1773
Lewis22.69036.516
KY 1149 south
Southern end of KY 1149 concurrency
22.89936.852
KY 1306 north
Western terminus of KY 1306
26.31042.342


AA Hwy (KY 9) north / KY 10 west / KY 1149 north – Vanceburg, Maysville, Alexandria

AA Hwy (KY 10) east – South Shore, Greenup, Ashland
Northern terminus of AA Highway southern spur; Mainline AA Highway continues north on KY 9; AA Highway eastern spur continues east on KY 10
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Eastern spur (KY 10)

[edit]
CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Lewis91.581147.385

AA Hwy (KY 9) north / KY 10 west – Vanceburg, Maysville, Alexandria



AA Hwy (KY 9) south / KY 1149 south to I-64 – Grayson, Carter Caves State Resort Park
Western terminus of AA Highway eastern spur; Mainline AA Highway continues north on KY 9; AA Highway southern spur continues south on KY 9
93.473150.430
KY 3020 west (Ronald Reagan Memorial Parkway) – Vanceburg
Eastern terminus of KY 3020
96.879155.912 KY 1306 (Kinney Road) – Garrison
99.158159.579 KY 3311 (Montgomery Road)
99.985160.910
To KY 8 – Quincy, Portsmouth, OH, South Shore
102.191164.460 KY 1021 (Briary Road)
Greenup105.178169.268 KY 784 (Shultz Road)
108.181174.100
KY 784 south
Western end of KY 784 concurrency
Letitia108.502174.617
KY 784 north
Eastern end of KY 784 concurrency
112.916181.721 KY 7 – South Shore
116.209187.020 US 23 – South Shore, Greenup, Ashland

KY 10 east to US 52 – Ohio
Terminus of AA highway eastern spur; KY 10 continues east to the Ohio River
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Division of Planning. "Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Highway Information System. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  2. ^ Flynn, Terry (November 27, 1993). "AA Highway filling a gap". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 13. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Division of Planning (2004). "Possible KY 9 Improvements". Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Archived from the original on August 4, 2004.
  4. ^ a b c Davis, Merlene (January 27, 1985). "Several Projects Helping to Ease Area's Traffic Woes". Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky.
  5. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.