'Just relief' | Some Glendale residents no longer at risk of losing their homes to a proposed bypass | Local News

GLENDALE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some Glendale residents are no longer at risk of losing their homes to a proposed bypass.

A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet study originally proposed putting a new Glendale bypass near North Beach Street. If it were to happen, several surrounding homes would've been wiped out.

Pushed against train tracks, historic Glendale has seen a lot of changes.

"We have lived in the pink house as long as the pink house is existed," said Rita Miller, who owns the Pink House in Glendale with her husband.

The couple has been married for more than 50 years, and started building the Pink House in 1993.

"We want this home because we did everything here ourselves," Miller said.

The Pink House in Glendale Kentucky Rita Miller.jpeg

KYTC has been considering a plan for a bypass here that would have forced several homeowners to sell their homes to the state through right-of-way acquisition. But just this week, KYTC said they do not recommend it because it was "met with substantial public opposition largely related to the potential for residential relocations."

"My first thought was probably just relief, relief that we weren't going to have to do what we had here, thinking that we had to do, which was going to be horrific. And just the fact that we're here we can enjoy every day," Miller said. "We don't have to worry about where we're going or how we're getting there. We just get up, go back to our old life before that day, and just enjoy every day we've got."

Now, KYTC is recommending a bypass along Glendale-Hodgenville Road and New Glendale Road. The agency said the bypass will help with an increase in traffic from the new Blue Oval SK Battery plants.

"Somebody has to lose. And unfortunately, the traffic's here and we're not going to be able to stop the traffic and someone is going to end up losing in order for there to be highways," said Miller.

The Pink House in Glendale Kentucky 2.jpeg

Miller has been running the "Save the Pink House" Facebook page for the past couple of months. She partly credits its' following for the "win."

"I wanted my home. And if I keep my home then the community is still here. So it was it was something I had to do," she said.

It’s not set in stone, but as of now, it is probably the least likely option. The state of Kentucky is also working on plans for a potential new exit on Interstate 65 at Gilead Church Road.

The Pink House in Glendale Kentucky from the WDRB drone (2).jpeg

WDRB News reached out to KYTC. Brad Bottoms, the chief district engineer in Elizabethtown, provided a statement: “Completion of this study gives us an action plan for safely and efficiently accommodating traffic for the Blue Oval/SK plants and at the same time preserving Glendale community.”

For more information on the "Save the Pink House" effort click here.

IMAGES | Inside 'The Pink House' in Glendale, Kentucky

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'Just relief' | Some Glendale residents no longer at risk of losing their homes to a proposed bypass