COVINGTON, Ky. — The Devou Good Foundation, a local philanthropic group, along with architecture firm Hub+Weber hosted an event Wednesday evening to promote what they would like to see for the 4th Street replacement bridge project.
The event was well-attended, with guests from the foundation, several public officials and community members.
Neither group is officially connected with the bridge project and the designs on display are not endorsed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the state agency responsible for administering the project.
Jake Ryle, a public information officer with the cabinet, said in a phone call with LINK nky that the agency would regard the event and the designs as a form of public comment.
The current bridge was built in the 1930s, and the cabinet has classified it as functionally obsolete, although heavy vehicle, pedestrian and bicycle traffic continue to travel over the bridge daily. Sidewalks on the bridge are small, and the narrow drive lanes and concrete barriers separating the road from the walkways make the bridge dangerous for cyclists.
Pedestrian and cyclist safety was on the minds of many at the event. Expanded pedestrian areas, more room for cycling and even a lane for an electric streetcar were all features of the proposed designs. The bridge would contain two lanes for cars.
Still images of the proposed design and videos showing its details adorned the office walls for people to view. Additionally, attendees could personally explore a 3D model of the design by donning special virtual reality headsets, which simulated what it would be like to walk around the bridge.
“Our ask is that Covington and Newport work together with KYTC to elevate all of the best ideas that the citizens have kind of pushed forward through this process,” said Matt Butler, who serves on the Devou Good Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Butler described the foundation’s actions to persuade the cabinet of its design choices.
“We’ve had survey feedback from about 1,600 people. We’ve had an open house in Covington. We had one in Newport last year. We had a petition that about 600 people signed. We were able to customize it ourselves, and now we’re having this,” Butler said. “So we’re gonna continue to bring feedback forward. We share everything that we receive with Covington and Newport and KYTC. So as long as people are coming out and saying we want to be a part of the process, we’ll continue to have events like this.”
At the beginning of the planning process for the replacement project, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet contracted with Stantec, a private engineering and architecture consulting group, to examine the state of the bridge and make recommendations. Stantec delivered its report in Nov. 2016 with some preliminary recommended designs for bridge improvements, two of which are pictured below.
Since then the cabinet has been soliciting public input on the bridge project from residents, businesses and other consulting groups through various means, notably through public comment sessions held at government sessions, which one event attendee characterized as inconveniently scheduled and inaccessible.
The project’s budget is $65 million.
In a statement emailed to LINK nky, Ryle laid out the plans for the bridge.
“After a procurement process that included team interviews and technical proposal reviews, KYTC selected the project design build team of PCL Construction, Inc., Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., and Rosales + Partners, Inc. to partner in the aesthetic and structural design and construction of the KY 8 bridge replacement,” the statement read.
Ryle said on the phone that members of the public could continue to submit comments and suggestions about the project, which the design and aesthetic committee would consider.
He also noted that the project’s progress on the cabinet’s website was not up to date and that the cabinet was working on making necessary changes. Visitors can still use the online contact form to leave comments.
The statement concludes by saying, “KYTC is committed to building a bridge which will be safe for all users… We hope to have a bridge type selection finalized by October 2023, and we’re looking forward to sharing the selected design with the public at that point.”
One event attendee, Joe Mak, a student at the University of Cincinnati who bikes the bridge frequently when traveling between Newport, Covington and Cincinnati, admired Hub+Weber’s design and appreciated that it granted more room for cyclists.
Still, the design was, as he put it, “extra,” and he wondered aloud how much such a build would cost.
When asked how much the designs on display would cost to build, Matt Butler and Jim Guthrie, Hub+Weber’s Principal, responded in the same way: “We’re not bridge engineers.”
Guthrie was hesitant to give a figure for fear of devaluing the proposal. Butler was more hopeful.
“We’ve tried to be mindful of cost,” he said. “The drive lanes are plate and girder, which is a basic bridge. That’s what KYTC is proposing as well. So, the… underlying foundation is very similar to what they’re proposing.”
He added that he hoped the proposed design would fall within the project’s budget constraints.
If you would like to comment or give a suggestion on 4th Street bridge replacement project, contact Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Public Information Officers Jake Ryle and James Healtherly at jake.ryle@ky.gov or james.heatherly@ky.gov. You can also leave comments and suggestions using the cabinet’s online contact form.
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