The Lake Barkley Partnership for Economic Development announced Tuesday a new 80-acre development project planned for the Eddyville Industrial Park that officials say will enhance its potential and the community’s growth opportunities. Executive Director Amanda Davenport says the development includes constructing a new park entrance off US-62, abolishing Industrial Park Road that bisects the site, grading, and constructing a stormwater retention basin. She indicates the project will be funded in part through a $172,560 Opportunity Kentucky Grant from Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company.
According to Davenport, the Opportunity Kentucky Grant is another big achievement in developing this park as a premier transit site in Kentucky. She says the site has rail service through Paducah and Louisville Railroad, interstate access to both Interstates 69 and 24, and water access to the Eddyville Riverport.
Davenport says the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority (‘ERIDA”) and Lake Barkley Partnership have been focused on making improvements to the Eddyville Industrial Park since 2019 during the development of a Master Plan for both the Riverport and Industrial Park. Since 2020, some of the improvements at the Eddyville Industrial Park have included: upgrades to the on-site sewer life station from the City of Eddyville; a new turn lane constructed by the state transportation cabinet from US-62 into the Industrial Park; development of additional sites through the Kentucky Produce Development Initiative; and engineering work on future park expansions.
Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority Board Chairman Billy Ray Coursey says in a statement the investment into the rail-served site is the fruition of a lot of planning and serious thought into the vision of the park. He also thanked their team with the Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority Board, Will McDowell with LG&E and KU’s Economic Development team, and Amanda Davenport with the Lake Barkley Partnership they are able to help fulfill their vision of having a premier site in our community.
Davenport says the large-scale investment from LG&E and KU shows the strength of collaboration between community partners to manifest a site that can attract transformative projects for our community and our workforce.
The Lake Barkley Partnership is a regional economic development organization serving business and industry in Caldwell, Crittenden, Livingston and Lyon Counties. For more information on the organization and available sites contact Amanda Davenport at amanda@thinkrural.com.