• planning for our future
  • growth and development
  • BRAC
  • infrastructure expansion

Capitalizing on the Transformation of Fort Knox

Over the past few years there have been three major changes occurring within the defense community impacting the economy of our region. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision, the transformation of the Army's force structure to deployable brigade combat teams (BCT), and the decision to move 70,000 troops from Europe and Korea to the United States will provide an increase of over 5,000 military and government employees, 1,000 contractors, and approximately 7,000 family members to the Fort Knox by 2012.

This transformation of Fort Knox will result in an end-state of over 25,000 employees working daily on the installation plus another 20,000 family members living on the installation; a level not seen since the early 1980's. As a result, the Fort Knox region will benefit from over a $350 million increase in annual payroll as well as the economic impact from hundreds of millions of dollars in new construction on Fort Knox. This increase in employees at Fort Knox will exceed employment numbers of any industry currently in Kentucky with the exception of UPS.

To aide in this transformation to our area we successfully lobbied the Governor and State Legislature to provide necessary funding to reconstruct Wilson Road in Radcliff to ensure the increased traffic flow in and out of Fort Knox is accommodated. Working with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College we were successful in securing required funding to complete Phase II of the Post Secondary construction project. This ensures ECTC continues to have the ability to work with Western Kentucky University and others in providing for the educational needs of Fort Knox employees as well as many other employees resulting from our rapidly growing economy.

To ensure we do everything possible to capitalize on the possibilities presented us from Fort Knox's realignment, I joined with the Judge/Executive of Meade County and the Mayors of Radcliff, Elizabethtown, and Vine Grove to create the "One Knox Policy Council". The mission of "One Knox" is the coordination of all efforts to prepare for and entice those associated with the Army's transformation to move to and make our region their home. To that end, we made multiple organized marketing trips (affectionately known as "Road Shows") to all five geographical areas involved in transferring operations and employment opportunities to Fort Knox. One Knox also hosted numerous visits within our region for personnel potentially moving here from Virginia, Missouri, and Indiana. Through these endeavors, many families have made the decision to move to Kentucky and make Hardin County their home!

Additionally, in partnership with the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Lincoln Trail Development District, One Knox has been successful in justifying and acquiring $162 million of State funding for numerous highway projects in preparation for the growth resulting from the Fort Knox BRAC. In 2009 and 2010 $50 million of these funds helped complete plans and design work, acquire rights-of-way, and accomplish utility work on four key road projects. Recently, $112 million was appropriated by the State for the actual construction of these projects in Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012:

  • The Elizabethtown/Radcliff Connector Road - a new high speed, limited access highway through western Hardin County connecting the E-town By-Pass to KY 313 near Woodland Elementary
  • The extension of HWY 313 from Vine Grove to U.S. 60 and eventually on to Brandenburg
  • A By-Pass around the west side of Radcliff to connect Hwy 313 with the Fort Knox main gate at the Bullion Depository
  • Access management improvements along the 31W corridor to streamline traffic flow and reduce accidents and delays

With the bright possibilities for our region presented by the Army's transformation and realignment, I believe my twenty years of active duty military experience with the Army Corps of Engineers, coupled with my experience as the county's chief executive officer, affords me the unique background and professional work experience necessary to maximize every opportunity we are provided.