COVINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear was in Covington Wednesday to announce a property agreement with Kenton County that will help move forward the Brent Spence Bridge project.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will give the county $15 million to create a new underground parking garage for the county's government center. It'll replace parking spots that currently sit beneath a bridge on the elevated I-71 and I-75 highways.
In doing this, the state will be able to continue with plans to fill Simon Kenton Way with dirt to expand a portion of I-71 and I-75 without elevating it.
The state said replacing the parking lot instead of building a bridge to elevate the right-of-way saves at least $15 million in construction costs.
"That's going to let us proceed faster when the time comes. It gets us ready for it," Beshear said. "We believe it's going to save us in excess of what it's going to cost to build that new parking garage. So this is one of the first major concrete steps forward — property swapped, dollars being moved — to make this project move forward."
Kenton County officials said they will most likely put housing on top of the parking garage while the front lot is used for the project. They said having people in the area after 5 p.m. also opens the area up to more economic development.
"When this block shuts down at 5 o'clock, to have another 50-150 people occupying this pace so they can walk down Mainstrasse and hopefully get a beer or a burger or whatever else is going on — maybe walk to another office, maybe they're working in the city, that's going to be possible and liven this entire block," said Kris Knochelmann, Kenton County Judge Executive.
KYTC said construction is expected to begin on the underground parking garage in early 2024. It will hopefully be completed in 2025 before the land on top of that will go out to bid.
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