Kentucky Lawmakers Approve Broadband Project
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have grudgingly agreed to fund a high-speed internet project that has been plagued by delays and cost overruns.
The project, dubbed Kentucky Wired, is supposed to build a network of more than 3,000 miles of fiber optic cables to bring broadband capability to all of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
It was supposed to be finished by now, but state officials think they won’t be able to turn the network on until at least 2020.
The delays have cost the state $88 million in unexpected expenses, money the state does not have to spend. Lawmakers agreed Saturday to let the state borrow up to $110 million to pay that debt. And they agreed to continue to fund the project at about $60 million over the next two years.
Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration had warned not funding the project would kill it and cost taxpayers up to half a billion dollars.
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