Pikeville in Pike County, Kentucky — The American South (East South Central)

Pikeville Cut-Through Project

Pikeville Cut-Through Marker, side one image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 20, 2022

1. Pikeville Cut-Through Marker, side one

Inscription.
This “Cut-Through” project, the dream of Dr. Wm. C. Hambley, is the largest engineering feat in the US and second in the world only to the Panama Canal. It was started in 1973 and finished in 1987, at a cost of $77,593,691. 18,000,000 cubic yards of earth were moved. The project eliminated the disastrous flooding of the Big Sandy River by moving a 4-lane highway, a railroad and a river through the mountain.

Pikeville-Pike County Tourism Board Members. Walter “Doc” Fletcher • Thomas Huffman • Frank Morris • Robert Pinson • David Stratton

☆ The Pikeville Overlook was completed in September of 1988, and was funded and paid for by the Pikeville-Pike County Tourism Commission.

Erected by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism Commission.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & Streetcars • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1987.

Location. 37° 28.358′ N, 82° 32.3′ W. Marker is in Pikeville, Kentucky, in Pike County. It is on Bob Amos Drive one mile past Clair Lane, on the right when traveling north. Marker is at the enclosed overlook platform at the end of Bob Amos Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 9 Bob Amos Dr, Pikeville KY 41501, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kentucky. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8

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other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mayor Hambley: Cut-Thru was ‘an act of God’ (a few steps from this marker); Timeline to Transformation (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Timeline to Transformation (within shouting distance of this marker); Revolutionary Revitalization (within shouting distance of this marker); Trail of Fame (approx. half a mile away); Chair of Honor (approx. half a mile away); Pikeville Veterans Memorial Park (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Pikeville Cut-Through Project (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pikeville.

Also see . . .
1. Pikeville Cut-Through. Wikipedia entry on the engineering feat, which is 1,300 feet wide, 3,700 feet long, and is 523 feet deep. (Submitted on December 6, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. The Pikeville Cut-Through Project. Dr. William C. Hambley first envisioned the project in the early 1960s. Initially mocked as "Hambley's Dream," the project took nearly three decades to become reality. (Pikeville History Moments, uploaded Aug. 13, 2020) (Submitted on December 6, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Pikeville Cut-Through Marker, side two image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, May 16, 2025

2. Pikeville Cut-Through Marker, side two

Pikeville Cut-Through Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 20, 2022

3. Pikeville Cut-Through Marker

Marker is at the entrance of an enclosed overlook.

The Pikeville Cut-Through image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, November 20, 2022

4. The Pikeville Cut-Through

Pikeville Cut-Through View image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., March 20, 2024

5. Pikeville Cut-Through View

From the Bob Amos Park Overlook

Credits. This page was last revised on May 24, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,148 times since then and 74 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 6, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2. submitted on May 24, 2025, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 3, 4. submitted on December 6, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 5. submitted on March 26, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.