Kentucky Route 8


Kentucky Route 8 is a east-west state highway divided into two distinct segments across northern Kentucky. The western terminus of the route is at KY 237 near Francisville. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 23 in South Portsmouth. The two distinct segments of this route were not meant to be connected together.
KY 8 is named the Mary Ingles Highway for part of its length. It is rumored that she was the first white woman in Kentucky. Captured by Indians in Virginia in 1755 and taken to Ohio, she later escaped a salt-making party at Big Bone Lick and made her way across the Kentucky wilderness back home to Virginia.

Route description

Western segment

The western segment of KY 8, the longer of the two, extends between rural Boone County and Maysville. KY 8 begins at Kentucky Route 237 along River Road near Francisville. The route runs parallel to the Ohio River as it heads eastward, passing through Covington, Newport, and Augusta before ending at an intersection with US 62 in Maysville.

Eastern segment

The eastern segment of KY 8 extends for from Concord-Trinity Road west of Concord to U.S. Route 23 in South Portsmouth west of South Shore. The western terminus of this portion is a very narrow two-lane road that becomes gravel.
From Kentucky Route 3037 in Vanceburg to its eastern terminus at US 23, KY 8 was formerly designated Kentucky Route 10, with KY 8 ending at KY 3037. The road became part of KY 8 in the late-1990s after KY 10 was rerouted onto the AA Highway to the south.

Major intersections

Western segment

Eastern segment