Scott Wartman

swartman@enquirer.com

Does a new taxpayer-funded highway exit and highway improvements by a Noah's Ark-themed park violate the separation of church and state?

One national watchdog group thinks it might. But no one is contemplating any action to stop the new road improvements planned near the soon-to-open Ark Encounter in Williamstown.

An improved interchange near the for-profit Ark Encounter at Interstate 75 and Ky. 36 made it into the state budget and road plan approved by the Kentucky General Assembly last week. The state is allocating $10 million to the project.

The new ramp will include a roundabout on the southbound I-75 exit and a new traffic signal off the northbound exit.

The governor has yet to sign the budget or make vetoes.

The improvements won't even have started by the time the $92 million Ark Encounter opens July 7. But local leaders hope they'll reduce future backups.

State money to help a Bible-themed attraction raises questions about the separation of church and state, said Gregory Lipper, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Washington, D.C.-based group fought the $18 million in tax incentives approved by the state, then rejected, then reinstated by a federal judge for the Ark Encounter.

Lipper told The Enquirer his group doesn't have any immediate plans to challenge the money.

"Every round of taxpayer funding makes it more and more a violation of church and state," Lipper said.

The federal court's decision earlier this year upholding the Ark Encounter tax incentives settled the issue, said Mark Looy, co-founder and chief communications officer for Answers in Genesis, the group behind the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum in Boone County.

"I don't see why people say it's a church and state issue," Looy said. "The law has been confirmed by a federal judge."

Aside from Americans United, the $10 million for the interchange and improvements to Ky. 36 hasn't generated much debate about separation of church and state.

Atheists aren't objecting to the new interchange.

"I may not like why it's being built, but they are also building the road to help businesses around there," said Jim G. Helton, of Union, president of the atheist group Tri-State Freethinkers, a group made up of people from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. "It's not too much of an issue."

That doesn't mean they won't protest the Noah's Ark-themed park. The Freethinkers advocate for equal rights and separation of church and state. They already have plans to troll the museum when it opens in July with vehicles toting billboards labeled "Genocide & Incest Park: Celebrating 4,000 years of myths." It's dependent on whether the old country road of Ky. 36 can handle it, Helton said.

They originally planned static billboards, but the billboard company backed out,

Helton questioned the Creation Museum's projections that 1.2 million to 2.1 million people every year would visit the ark.

"The problem I have with this is that the General Assembly made the decision based on what the Ark Encounters projects," Helton said.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet projects the average daily traffic to increase on Ky. 36 in Williamstown from 6,000 cars to 18,400 in 20 years. The projections were based on attendance estimates provided by Answers in Genesis, said Mike Zovath, co-founder of Answers in Genesis.

Many in Grant County see the road as a necessity to handle traffic in this rural community. Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said he hasn't heard anyone raise issues about the separation of church and state in regards to the new road.

"That's went by the wayside," Skinner said. "I'm not hearing any of that at all. They're a for-profit company that happens to have a religious theme. I think now it's a tourist attraction. We need to make sure we have infrastructure ready for the tourists."

Answers in Genesis is spending $500,000 to add a turn lane in front of the Ark Encounter by the time it opens in July. They want to ensure the traffic jams that resulted from the opening of the Kentucky Speedway won't be repeated, Zovath said.

"The Ark Encounter is doing everything it can to take care of the tourists who will come to the area," Zovath said.

The interchange won't get revamped until next year, according to state officials. In the meantime, Answers in Genesis will pay to have people direct traffic off the interchange for the first year during peak times, Zovath said.

As for the planned billboards and protests from the Tri-State Freethinkers, that doesn't bother the creationists. The publicity doesn't hurt, Looy said.

"It will just draw more attention to this world-class attraction that will benefit the economy and add dollars into the state treasury," Looy said. "We welcome any of these Freethinkers to tour the ark. We extend gracious hospitality to anyone that comes to the ark."