Kenton County Public Works updated the fiscal court on the progress of several key infrastructure projects.
On Feb. 25, Public Works Director Spencer Stork told the Kenton County Fiscal Court that the department recently met with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to discuss the progress of some of the state’s most pressing projects within the county, including KY-536 and Wolf Road.
“They just go through the process of where we are with design on some of the projects and construction,” Stork said during the fiscal court meeting.
KY-536
For years, Northern Kentucky’s political leadership has sought to upgrade KY-536, a state-owned road that runs through the heart of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties. The road is a primary connector between I-71 and 75 and is a critical route for commuters, businesses and regional transportation.
Regional and state leaders believe that enhancing KY-536 will improve traffic flow and safety and accommodate future population growth.
At the NKY Chamber of Commerce’s State of NKY Forum in January, the judges/executives in each county noted the project’s importance to the region.
Stork said the road crews are currently working on a 1.5-mile stretch of road from KY-1303 to Williamswoods Road.
Once completed, road crews will widen a 2-mile stretch from Williamswoods Road to KY-17. KYTC expects to finish the section by 2028.
After that, KYTC will shift its focus to a nearly 8-mile stretch of road from KY-16 to the Campbell County border, which Stork said is currently under design.
“That’s currently under design, and they’re expecting to have alternate alignments for review next month,” he said.
Wolf Road
On Tuesday, Kenton County accepted proposals from GeoStabilization International and George B. Stone, LLC, to repair slides and install guardrails on Wolf Road. Stork and KYTC’s Brandon Seiter reviewed and evaluated the proposals.
“We have our M.O.A. with KYTC executed now, and we just approved, on this agenda, a contract for slide repair and guard rail,” Stork said.
Located between Taylor Mill Road and Decoursey Pike, Wolf Road has long been maligned for pavement deterioration and concerns over slope stabilization. Due to its location, Wolf Road’s maintenance jurisdiction became a subject of debate and litigation between Kenton County, Taylor Mill and Covington.
In October 2022, Kenton County agreed to assume maintenance responsibility for Wolf Road on behalf of KYTC for a singular repair project that includes pavement resurfacing, slope stabilization, and drainage improvements. The cabinet budgeted $600,000 in state funding for Kenton County to use for the project.
Upon completion, Covington and Taylor Mill will jointly take over the maintenance of Wolf Road.
Kenton County Government Center parking garage project
Kenton County is building a 248-space parking garage at the rear of the Kenton County Government Center in Covington, which is bordered by Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., also known as 12th St.
In August 2024, construction crews demolished three homes at 514, 512 and 510 Martin Luther King Blvd. to make room for the parking garage.
Last week, construction crews completed excavation on the parking garage site. In addition, Stork said work on the project’s auger cast piles is expected to be finished by next week. Auger cast piles are used to support structures like buildings, bridges, and retaining walls
“From there, we’ll move on to working on the footings, so all good things,” he said.
Dixie Highway and Kenton Lands Road
Commissioner Jon Draud inquired about the status of a project that seeks to widen Kenton Lands Rd. in Erlanger from Dixie Highway, also known as US-25, to Riggs Road.
Stork responded by saying the project is currently on hold due to financial reasons.
“They told us in this meeting, it’s currently on hold, but they’re working on getting that resolved so they can actually get the design process started because currently, they’re not really authorizing funding for projects that are new to design,” Stork said.
Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said Kenton County will continue to advocate for the project’s funding.
“We’ll be advocating for it here in the spring,” Knochelmann said.