County), KY 80 is again the primary route. The state's I-66 proposals call for KY 80 to again be bypassed in this area, with the new road to share only the crossing over the Rockcastle River gorge. This proposal has met with controversy, with area residents preferring that the new Interstate be built on the existing KY 80 right of way. From London to Hazard, KY 80 is again supplanted, this time by the former Daniel Boone Parkway, renamed the Hal Rogers Parkway in 2003. KY 80 serves rural portions of Clay, Leslie, and Perry counties before rejoining the Parkway near Hazard. Hazard to Pikeville and the Virginia border KY 80 is a modern four-lane highway (though not controlled access) from Hazard through Knott County to Watergap in Floyd County where it converges with US 23. This section of Kentucky Route 80 was completely new construction, with the old highway's segments renamed with several designations, primarily KY 550. KY 80 continues, concurrent with US 460 until reaching Belcher in Pike County and continues into Virginia from Elkhorn City as Virginia State Route 80. History Pre-1960s KY 80's original western terminus was on the east side of Bowling Green during the 1930s and early 1940s. It was extended to its current length, including the concurrency with US 68, in around the late 1940s or early 1950s. Originally, KY 80 continued westward via ferry across the Mississippi River to Belmont, Missouri, where it connected with Missouri Route 80, which travels west to US 61/US 62 near Sikeston, Missouri. That ferry has long since been discontinued. Late 20th century realignments KY 80's original alignments in Knott and Perry counties were renumbered to KY 550 at some point around 1979–1980. Several other segments of KY 80 were rerouted in various areas between Somerset and Prestonsburg between 1977 and 1984. When the US 68/KY 80 four-lane realignment was completed in the late 1990s, several of the route's old alignments were kept intact, notably in areas between Hopkinsville and Bowling Green. Old alignments of US 68/KY 80 in Fairview, Elkton, Russellville, Auburn, Bowling Green and Glasgow were converted into business routes of US 68. Sometime in 2007, the route was rerouted onto a bypass route around Cadiz; the original alignment in that city also became a US 68 business loop. Rerouting in the Purchase area The KY 80 alignment from Brewers to Aurora was renumbered as