Eastern Kentucky projects receive record $78.8 million in ARC awards

Sixty-seven Eastern Kentucky projects received a record $78.8 million in Appalachian Regional Commission funding for fiscal year 2026, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Oct. 7. The total exceeds Kentucky’s previous annual ARC record of $59.2 million, set in fiscal year 2023.

The governor’s office also reported nearly $93.8 million in matching funds from local governments and organizations. Together, the awards and reported matches represent more than $172.5 million in investment for the projects. The matching funds are attributed to local governments and organizations, rather than described as a single source of state money.

Area Development Program sets a separate record

More than $62.3 million of the ARC funding is for 51 projects through the commission’s Area Development Program, the highest Kentucky total for that program, according to the governor’s office. Its previous record was $47.7 million, also in fiscal year 2023.

Beshear recommended the Area Development Program projects, and ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin gave final approval, the governor’s office said. Kentucky’s Department for Local Government administers the state’s ARC program.

The awards cover work in several areas, from expanding internet access to improving water and sewer infrastructure and developing health-care training facilities. The project descriptions identify intended reach and expected employment for some investments, but those projections are not reports of completed work or jobs already created.

Broadband, water and workforce projects

Six broadband projects received $25.7 million and are intended to extend high-speed internet access to more than 3,000 homes across 12 counties. The projects direct the largest specifically identified sum toward household connectivity in the announced examples.

In Knott County, $3.1 million is designated for water and sewer infrastructure in the Chestnut Ridge high-ground neighborhood. Another $1.8 million will extend sewer service to unserved areas of Perry County. The announcements identify the locations and purposes of the work but do not describe individual construction schedules.

In Whitesburg, $1.7 million will help renovate the old Whitesburg High School gymnasium into a health-care training and development center. The governor’s office estimates the planned center will support more than 20 jobs; it did not describe those jobs as already created.

A separate $1.7 million award will help replace the Wheelwright water-treatment plant in Floyd County. The plant dates to the 1930s and serves more than 300 homes, according to the governor’s office and WMDJ-FM. The award is described as assistance toward replacement of the facility.

The funding announcement establishes awards for the listed projects; it does not establish that construction is complete or that all funding has been paid out. The governor’s office did not provide project-by-project completion dates.