Ernie Harris, a state senator who has represented Oldham County since 1995, is announcing his retirement April 15, the last day of the 2020 general assembly session, Harris told the Era.

Legislative Research Commission FRANKFORT, February 12 -- Senate Transportation Committee Chair Ernie Harris, R-Prospect, comments on Senate Bill 4, a bill that would establish the Kentucky Transportation Board. Buy this photo

The Republican senator has represented District 26, which encompasses Oldham County and part of northeast Jefferson County, for 25 years.

In a subsequent interview with the Era, Harris said his decision to retire was already made back in 2018 when he ran for reelection. He said he knew that would be his last election and was actively considering retiring midway between his term.

“My career is about to end, it's been a good career and it’s time to move on,” he said.

Harris was elected in 1994, which was his first electoral foray into Kentucky politics. He faced off with Democrat Rick Rand who won the Senate seat in 1991. Rand has been the Democratic representative for Carroll, Gallatin, Henry and Trimble counties since 2003.

Twenty-six years ago, Senate District 26 was much larger and included more than Oldham and part of Jefferson County. In 1994, the district included Oldham, Henry, Carroll, Grant, Owen, Pendelton, Scott and Trimble counties.

Harris was the underdog in that election; according to Era archives, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans 4-1 in the region at that time. Harris won the election with 12,688 votes versus Rand’s 10,952 votes.

“I never thought I’d get elected in the first place, but I made it through the election and pressed on from there,” Harris said.

For the past 12 years, Harris has chaired the Transportation Committee. The committee is tasked with studying the construction and maintenance of the state highway system and state aid for local roads and streets, among other charges.

Of vital importance, the committee has a hand in guiding the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Highway Plan which earmarks money for various road projects and improvements across the state.

A key reason for Harris’ retirement, he said, was the secured funding for construction and future planning and design involved with the widening project for Interstate 71.

The widening of I-71 from four to six lanes has been a top priority for state and local officials for several years as traffic jams and accidents are commonplace along the road.

A “major artery” for transportation, Harris said, I-71 sees a lot of freight trucks driving from Nashville or Southern Indiana up to Cincinnati.

Widening I-71 from the Gene Snyder Freeway, Interstate 265, to the Crestwood exit was lumped in with the state’s I-Move Kentucky project last year.

Harris and other state transportation officials announced the project in April 2019, heralding it as Kentucky’s largest transportation project since the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges.

I-Move includes widening I-265 to six lanes between Taylorsville Road and I-71. The interchanges at I-71 and I-265 and Interstate 64 and I-265 will also be remodeled as part of the project.

The widening was first projected to be completed in 2026 but has now moved up to an anticipated completion date of November 2023.

“I’ve been focused on 71 for the last seven to eight years,” Harris said. “It’s one of the greatest needs that are out there.”

Among his biggest accomplishments during his 25-year career in the Senate, Harris considers moving I-71 into the right direction to widen all the way into Louisville one of them, alongside the people he’s been able to meet and help.

Apart from I-71, Harris said there’s a lot of family reasons prompting his decision to retire at this point, wanting to see his own children and grandchildren more is one such reason.

A special election will be held to fill Harris’ seat held the same date as Kentucky’s delayed primary election on June 23. The Republican and Democratic executive committees for Oldham and Jefferson County will make the decision as to who they put forward for the senate seat.

Once April 15 comes around and his final day in the Senate is upon him Harris said he’s ready to move on and nobody should expect to hear a peep from him.

“I’m going to be like the World War II General Douglas MacArthur,” Harris said. “When I retire on Wednesday next week I’m just going to fade away and enjoy whatever the future holds.”