Two Lexington road projects go to bid Nov. 19: Main Street at Buchanan and a Liberty Road widening

Two of the 19 contracts on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Nov. 19, 2026 letting are in Lexington, according to the cabinet's Notice to Contractors.

Call 100: Main Street and Buchanan Street

Contract 261523 covers the reconstruction of the intersection of Main Street (US 421) and Buchanan Street in Fayette County. The notice lists the length as 0.10 miles and the work type as "grade and drain with asphalt surface." The federal-aid project number is SLX 3003 (372), and the state's Six-Year Plan (SYP) item is 07-00454.00. The DBE participation goal is 0.00%.

The notice does not describe the design, such as lane configuration, signals or sidewalks. Those details are in the proposal and plans.

Call 101: Liberty Road widening

Contract 261521 would improve Liberty Road (KY 1927) from Graftons Mill Lane to New Circle Road and improve the intersection with New Circle Road. The notice lists a length of 1.15 miles and describes the work type as widening. The project number is STP 3003 (337), and the SYP item is 07-08902.00. The DBE goal is also 0.00%.

Both SYP item numbers begin with "07," which matches KYTC District 7, the district office based in Lexington that covers Fayette County.

No estimates yet

KYTC does not publish engineer's estimates in its Notice to Contractors. The notice says that after bids are opened, they will be reviewed in the Division of Construction Procurement and posted along with the engineer's estimate on KYTC's website and on Bid Express. This site will report the results, including the low bidder and how bids compared with the estimate.

Who can bid

Only contractors prequalified by KYTC in the work categories of each project may register to bid. Registration closes at 3:00 p.m. on Nov. 18, and electronic bids are due through Bid Express by 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 19. Plans are ordered from kytcplanroom.com.

Lexington has a deep local bench. Of the 254 KYTC-prequalified contractors with Kentucky addresses on this site's directory, 30 are based in Fayette County, more than any other county. The Fayette County hub lists them.

Opportunities for subcontractors

Urban intersection and widening jobs typically need subcontractors for utilities and drainage, concrete curb and sidewalk, traffic signals, pavement markings, signing, erosion control and traffic control. The exact items are in each proposal's bid item list, which KYTC also summarizes in its bid item quantity index. Subcontractors can check the eligible bidders list on the Division of Construction Procurement site to see which primes have registered.

Elsewhere on the letting

Also on Nov. 19: a 1.40-mile reconfiguration of Bardstown Road (US 31E) in Louisville, an I-69 rehabilitation in Webster County, I-71 rest area concrete paving in Oldham County, a KY 1426 bridge replacement in Pike County, KY 34 safety improvements near Chenault Bridge in Garrard County, and 12 resurfacing contracts. See the full list on our bids page.

How to bid

KYTC's notice spells out the rules. Contractors must register for each project they intend to bid, using the bidder registration form on the Division of Construction Procurement website, and the department "will only accept bidder registration forms from contractors who are prequalified in the work categories of the particular project." Registration closes at 3:00 p.m. on the day before the letting. Bids are received electronically through Bid Express until 10:00 a.m. on letting day. Plans are requested through KYTC's plan room at kytcplanroom.com, and the department notes those requests are non-refundable.

After the bids are opened, the division reviews them and posts them, along with the engineer's estimate, on its website and on Bid Express. The division's site also carries the eligible bidders list, unit bid tabulations, average unit bid prices, an asphalt price index and the DBE directories.