Gov. Andy Beshear visited Guthrie on Wednesday to make a ceremonial presentation of $30 million to help construct a natural gas pipeline that will run about 50 miles through Christian, Todd and Trigg counties. It will have capacity to also serve Caldwell and Lyon counties.
Officials hailed the project as key to industrial development in the Pennyrile region.
“Currently, the region is served by a small pipeline from Tennessee, and with so much recent economic development, and even more coming, there’s a need to expand that supply,” Beshear said, according to a press release from his office. “When world-class companies look to locate here, they need world-class infrastructure to support their needs. I’m happy to be alongside these other leaders to announce that that’s exactly what we’re going to do in building this line.”
Beshear singled out state Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, for recommending legislation that included the funding. House Bill 1 allocates $15 million this fiscal year and $15 million next year.
“I’m extremely pleased to see our region take advantage of the pipeline project to increase local access to natural gas. This is certainly a quality-of-life issue, as well as helping position the area for future economic development opportunities,” Petrie said. “I was glad we could include this project when we drafted the state budget and happy to see the Governor also bring attention to it. The impact on our district certainly weighs heavily on my mind as we consider making additional investments in the next budget.”
Todd County Judge-Executive Todd Mansfield accepted the check from Beshear.
