Hello, friends and neighbors,
I’m Stella Pollard, running to represent Kentucky’s 20th Senate District. I want to talk about something that hits home for so many of us- our roads and the infrastructure that connects our communities.
Kentucky’s rural areas are the backbone of this state. Our farms, small towns, and families are something to be proud of. But right now, those communities are being left behind. Our roads are deteriorating, bridges need repair, and local governments are stretched too thin to keep up.
The truth is, Kentucky’s legislature has consistently underfunded rural infrastructure. In fiscal year 2024, cities and counties submitted over $75 million in requests for local road repairs, but the state only funded about $20 million, leaving more than $38 million in projects unmet. This funding gap hits rural areas especially hard, forcing local governments to delay vital repairs and leaving people to drive on unsafe roads (Kentucky Lantern, 2024).
On top of that, the cost to build and repair roads has nearly doubled over the past decade due to inflation in construction costs. Counties needed an estimated $139 million more in road aid in 2024 just to maintain the same infrastructure quality as in 2014, but funding hasn’t kept pace (Kentucky Association of Counties, 2024).
Municipalities themselves spent over $399 million on road and street maintenance in 2023, but state aid covered only about 14% of that total. This means local governments are left to shoulder the majority of the financial burden (Kentucky League of Cities, 2023).
On top of state-level issues, Kentucky has not received the level of support it deserves from the national government. Funding that should help rural roads and communities often falls short, leaving us to pick up the pieces ourselves.
This isn’t just about potholes and cracks. It’s about the health of our local economy. When roads fail, farmers struggle to get their products to market on time, small businesses lose customers, and emergency services face dangerous delays. Rural Kentucky deserves better.
I’m committed to fighting for increased investment in our roads and infrastructure. We need state leaders who will prioritize Kentucky’s rural communities, ensure fair funding, and stand up to Washington to bring more resources home.
Rural Kentucky is something to be proud of, and it’s time our roads and communities reflect that pride.
Thank you for standing with me. Together, we can build a safer, stronger Kentucky.
If you believe in building a stronger Kentucky for all of us, and have the means to do so, please consider making a small donation to support my campaign today: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/stella-pollard-1
Stella Pollard
References
Kentucky Association of Counties. (2024). County road funding struggles to keep pace with inflation. https://kaco.org/articles/county-road-funding-struggles-to-keep-pace-with-inflation/
Kentucky Lantern. (2024, January 29). Kentucky has tens of millions of dollars of backlogged requests to repair local roads. https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/01/29/kentucky-has-tens-of-millions-of-dollars-of-backlogged-requests-to-repair-local-roads/
Kentucky League of Cities. (2023). City transportation funding. https://klc.org/News/12920/city-transportation-funding
Stella for KY 