How Excavated Material is Reused on the Mountain Parkway Expansion
From mountainside to roadway, nearly every truckload has a purpose
When you see dump trucks hauling rock across the project, you might think it's headed to a waste site. In reality, almost every load is being reused to build the Magoffin-Floyd segment of the Mountain Parkway.
The Magoffin-Floyd segment is the final section of the Mountain Parkway Expansion—and the most ambitious of all six project segments. Unlike the other sections, this portion of the project is being built entirely on new alignment, creating a four-lane, limited-access highway connecting US 460 in Salyersville (Magoffin County) to KY 404 in Prestonsburg (Floyd County).
Construction includes approximately 13 miles of new highway, multiple bridge structures spanning waterways and existing roads, and an estimated 30 million cubic yards of excavation. With that much rock and soil being moved, you might wonder: Where does it all go?
Bizzack Construction, the lead contractor for the Magoffin-Floyd segment, is reusing nearly all of the rock and soil excavated during construction. Rather than hauling material away to outside dump sites, the project team carefully designed the roadway so the material can be be reused as embankment fill throughout the corridor.
During the design phase, the project team worked closely with geotechnical experts to balance excavation and fill needs. Today, Bizzack Construction is carrying out that plan by reusing excavated material throughout the project. In some locations, the design even includes flatter areas that allow crews to use additional material, helping eliminate the need to haul excess rock away—one of the most expensive parts of construction.
Even the highest-quality rock won't go to waste. It will be separated, crushed and reused as channel lining in the project's rock ditches, where it will help manage drainage and protect the new infrastructure for years to come.
By reusing materials already found on site, the project reduces waste, limits hauling and makes the most of the natural resources already available along the Mountain Parkway. In the end, from the first blast to the final layer of pavement, every truckload has a purpose.
Project Gallery
Photos taken during a site visit on 6-3-26.