Contact: Sara George, Information Officer
Highway District 12
109 Loraine Street
Pikeville, Kentucky 41501
606-433-7791
Toll-Free 877-433-7791
Mobile: 606-434-3688

LETCHER COUNTY – July 21, 2008 – A re-dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting for the Private-First-Class Billie McFall Bridge on KY 113 at Millstone has been set for Friday, August 1, at 11 a.m. at the site of the new bridge. The date is exactly 58 years after McFall, a Letcher County native, died on the battlefield in Korea .

The bridge replacement project is nearing completion, said Jay White, Highway District 12 Resident Engineer. “The Department of Highways conducted various public meetings to better understand and serve the community's needs and interests,” he explained. “Through public feedback obtained during these meetings, the Transportation Cabinet developed compromises which best served the Millstone community while providing numerous safety and convenience upgrades for the traveling public.”

Kevin Damron, Chief District Engineer, said the original bridge had many functional deficiencies. “The width of the old bridge could only accommodate one-lane traffic. Opposing lanes of traffic alternated without benefit of a traffic signal. And, although it was used by pedestrians, the structure had no sidewalk. Furthermore, the original bridge had severe alignment problems on the north end. A very tight north end turn caused maneuvering difficulties for school buses and commercial vehicles.”

The new bridge is wide enough for two-way traffic and has a sidewalk with handicap accessible ramps for pedestrians. When the entire project is finished, the alignment will be “greatly improved,” Damron said. “Tractor-trailer type vehicles will no longer need to ‘jack-knife' to cross. A right turn lane is being built into KY 113 to allow motorists much safer turns into the Millstone community as they follow KY 113 North.” Guardrail will be installed at various locations to protect motorists from steep embankments and obstacles which could not be relocated.

What used to be called the Millstone Democrat Bridge was re-named by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at the request of Letcher County veterans groups. Veterans asked the Letcher Fiscal Court for a resolution naming the structure the PFC Billie McFall Bridge .

PFC McCall was the first Letcher County native confirmed to have been killed in action during the Korean War. He “gave his all” on August 1, 1950. Fifty-eight years later to the day, on Friday, August 1, 2008, at 11 a.m. a re-dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony is set in honor of PFC McCall.

The ceremony will begin and end with canon fire conducted by the Sons of Confederate Veterans of Letcher County. The keynote speaker for the event is James Duncan, himself a Korean War veteran and the only surviving Letcher County native held as a prisoner of war during the conflict. He suffered 32 months of captivity. An American flag will be presented to PFC McFall's closest living relative, followed by a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps .

Military honors at the ceremony will be performed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5829 and the Letcher County Memorial Museum members. “The public is invited and encouraged to attend this solemn event as one last honor is bestowed upon this fallen American hero,” said Buddy Grubb, chairman of the Museum.

Note regarding attached photo: Taken earlier this month, this view shows how the new bridge alignment will differ from the old bridge. In the center of the picture, to the left of the white truck, the end of what looks like a steel bar can be seen sticking out of the ground. The new alignment will start at this spot and extend straight across the creek, eliminating the dangerous approach to the bridge from the north side.