COVINGTON, Ky. — Nearly $3.7 million in combined federal and state money will go towards the two-way traffic conversion on Scott and Greenup Streets in Covington per a municipal order passed by the Covington City Commission on Tuesday.
Specifically, the order allows the city to accept $2,930,560 in federal funds and $732,640 in state funds, or $3,663,200 in total, from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to bankroll the project.
A final cost for the project has not yet been established, and the city would be responsible for any cost exceeding that amount. The grant has no match requirement, so the city will not need to contribute any money upfront in order to receive the funds.
Although the project has been discussed for years, the commission officially voted to convert the streets to two-way traffic between 20th and 12th Streets late last year. At the time, city officials argued the conversion would do the following:
- Calm traffic
- Improve walking infrastructure
- Increase safety
- Bolster economic development
The project will also extend the KY-17 designation west to Madison Avenue.
The municipal order did not appear on the commission meeting’s agenda and was a last-minute addition from Mayor Joe Meyer. The vote to accept the order was unanimous.
The exact costs of the project are difficult to predict as it must go through a bidding process, whereby private contractors compete to offer the lowest price to complete the project.
The passage of the order now allows the public works department to send the project out to bid. Once a bidder is secured, the public works department hopes the project will be completed by the spring.
This story originally appeared on linknky.com.
Watch Live:
