From the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet:

2010 Kentucky Official Highway Map now available
Celebrates Kentucky’s rich equine history, World Equestrian Games

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The 2010 Kentucky Official Highway Map is now available across the Commonwealth at rest areas, welcome centers, local convention and tourism offices and all Kentucky State Parks.

As always, the new map contains a wealth of information for motorists. This year it also celebrates Kentucky’s rich equine history and welcomes visitors to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

“The Official Kentucky Highway Map is certainly a great aid for planning a trip and finding your way, but it’s also much more,” Gov. Steve Beshear said. “Our highway map is part of our effort to make a good first impression on the many thousands of people who will visit our Commonwealth in 2010.”

The highway map, published annually by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, is packed with information for the traveling public in general and World Equestrian Games visitors in particular. For example, it includes a prominently sized inset map of Lexington and the Central Kentucky Bluegrass Region, including the Kentucky Horse Park, site of the World Equestrian Games.

Fourteen other inset maps detail downtown Lexington, the Louisville area, downtown Louisville, Bowling Green, Owensboro, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Paducah, Elizabethtown-Radcliff, northern Kentucky, Covington-Newport, downtown Frankfort, Richmond-Berea and Ashland.

Leaping equine steeplechasers, caught by the camera in mid-air, decorate the cover of the map. The back of the map highlights Kentucky culture – food, music, museums and more – along with information about Kentucky traffic laws, sharing the road with bicyclists and the emergency services offered by the SAFE Patrol – Safety Assistance for Freeway Emergencies – of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

“The cabinet takes pride in the quality of the Official Kentucky Highway Map,” said Acting Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock. “We believe it is an invaluable resource for all motorists but especially for visitors.”

“The map is a great way to let our guests know about Kentucky attractions and points of interest,” said Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Marcheta Sparrow. “The map also includes all of our Kentucky State Parks and historic sites, along with federal parks.”

Among improvements in the 2010 edition, county boundaries were subtly enhanced to make them more easily discernible. There is a generously-sized mileage chart; indexes to counties, cities and towns, and hotline numbers for highway emergencies.

Multiple legends identify every type of street and highway, including bicycle routes and scenic byways. They also pinpoint such features as Kentucky State Parks and Resort Parks, colleges and universities, airports and river ports, hospitals, welcome centers and rest areas and Kentucky State Police posts.