Think tank cites high share of single-bid asphalt contracts in Fayette County as oversight focus grows

A new analysis from a Kentucky free-market think tank is renewing scrutiny of how state road paving projects are bid, arguing that some asphalt contractors receive a disproportionate share of “single-bid” awards in Fayette County, potentially increasing costs for taxpayers by limiting competition.

The report, released Tuesday by the Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics & Education (KYFREE), examines asphalt road paving contracts awarded by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. According to the think tank’s findings, Kentucky awarded $1.3 billion in single-bid asphalt contracts over a three-year period from 2023 to 2025, meaning only one company submitted a bid for those projects.

KYFREE said that one company, L-M Asphalt Partners, received 31.8% of the single-bid paving contracts covered in the analysis. The think tank reported those awards totaled $424 million, and it said that a substantial share of L-M’s single-bid wins involved paving work in Fayette County, where it has long been described as a dominant contractor in the state’s procurement outcomes.

The report also points to a broader pattern in Kentucky procurement. In a legislative oversight review released in 2024, a committee reported that a majority of asphalt-related contracts from 2018 to 2023 received only a single bid. The 2024 oversight review, as summarized in the earlier reporting, found the percentage of single-bid contracts was significantly higher than in neighboring states and that single-bid awards were typically higher than the cabinet engineer’s estimates, while contracts with multiple bidders were awarded at lower costs.

KYFREE’s Tuesday analysis builds on those earlier concerns by focusing on the handful of firms it says consistently win a large portion of single-bid contracts. The report says a third of the single-bid contracts won by L-M Asphalt Partners were for paving work in Fayette County. In response to the new analysis, reporting on the release characterized KYFREE’s conclusion as further evidence of an “asphalt monopoly” in the county, tying the issue to the bidding structure rather than arguing about a specific project’s engineering merits.

The think tank’s findings arrive as questions about asphalt contracting have circulated in Kentucky for decades. Critics have alleged that procurement practices can create conditions for tacit collusion, where large contractors bid in a way that leaves fewer bidders available for certain areas, potentially inflating prices and weakening public accountability for cost control.

A key next step for the issue will be how KYTC and state oversight bodies respond to the data and whether procurement rules are adjusted to encourage more competitive bids for asphalt paving work. The 2024 oversight review included recommendations aimed at improving transparency and contestability, and Tuesday’s report adds another dataset for the continuing policy debate over Kentucky’s bidding process and costs.

For residents, the immediate practical stakes are tied to how road work is priced and scheduled statewide, including in Fayette County. Asphalt projects can affect traffic patterns, public timelines, and community access, and they are funded through taxpayer resources. If the underlying concern is correct, limiting single-bid situations could be a way to strengthen cost control while preserving the state’s ability to deliver transportation improvements on time.