The Kentucky Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee has approved a $4.5 billion transportation budget but not before inserting language that would restore nearly $50 million for road construction projects that had been vetoed by Gov. Steve Beshear.
The spending measure now advances to the Senate floor for a planned vote on Friday. It would provide funding to widen interstate highways, like I-65, expand airports and dredge river ports across the state.
Appropriations and Revenue Commmittee Chairman Bob Leeper cited a "fit of conscience" for his push to put the $50 million in road projects into the transportation budget. Leeper said he felt the projects, all of which were in Senate President David Williams' district, had been unfairly stricken form the state's road construction plan by Gov. Beshear.