CINCINNATI — The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) announced it's awarding over $50 million in funds for transportation projects and repairs in the Greater Cincinnati area.
In total, 18 different projects in Ohio and Kentucky will be funded through the award, according to a press release from OKI.
"The OKI Board has unanimously agreed to make a more than $50 million investment in infrastructure within our three-state region," said Gary Moore, OKI Board president and Boone County judge. "These transportation projects will improve mobility and safety for the region's two million residents, including drivers, transit riders, cyclists and pedestrians."
Moore said the projects slated to gain from the $50.7 million award are specifically items that neighborhoods and cities in the region have said are critical for the future.
The funds come from a combination of the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement funds and the Transportation Alternatives (TA) program. All of those programs are federal government programs; the STBG and TA programs are funded by the Federal Highway Administration, while the CMAQ is funded by the US Department of Transportation.
The Tri-State programs funded are all through either the SBTG or the TA programs.
Here are all the projects in the region that will benefit from the OKI funding:
Ohio:
- $8 million will go to the Brent Spence Bridge Context Sensitive Design
- This funding will go toward improving the I-75 bridge crossings, including new bike and pedestrian walkways and other upgrades, OKI said.
- $8 million will go to improvements at Plum Street in Cincinnati
- This funding will go toward making Plum Street safer for pedestrians
- $8 million will go to Great Parks of Hamilton County for phase 1 of an Ohio River Trail Oasis Corridor project
- This funding will be used to build a 2.1 mile path that will span from the Montgomery Inn Boathouse to Gladstone Avenue
- $8 million will go to SORTA for new hybrid buses
- Metro will receive 10 new hybrid buses
- $2,811,802 will go to improvements in the Bach Buxton Road Corridor in Clermont County
- $1,522,974 will go to the Village of Evendale for signals
- $480,000 will go to Purcell Avenue sidewalks in Cincinnati
- $1 million will go to Colerain Township for sidewalks on Compton Road
- $761,243 will go to Loveland for sidewalks at SR-48 and Butterworth
- $895,101 will go to Mason for a US-42 bike path connection
Kentucky:
- $1,377,859 will go toward a multi-use path on Conrad Lane
- A multi-use path will be built along Conrad Lane from Bullittsville Road to KY-237 in Boone County
- $896,839 will go to Crestview Hills for Thomas More Parkway road and drainage improvements
- This funding will be used for resurfacing and drainage issues
- $3,456,000 will go to TANK for micro-transit replacement and expansion
- TANK will get 18 new vehicles to support the TANK+ micro-transit program
- $3,045,927 will go to Highland Heights for a US-27 multi-use path and sidewalk
- $648,000 will go to Bellevue for the Van Voast Pedestrian Bridge
- $679,932 will go to Fort Wright for construction of a sidewalk along Dixie Highway
- $462,000 will go toward the Weaver Road sidewalk project
- $715,000 will go to Villa Hills for the Rogers Road Pedestrian Bridge
OKI is a council comprised of local governments, business organizations and community groups in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Tri-State area. The group focuses on developing strategies, plans and programs to improve development in the region.
"This year's improvements range from basic to advanced, but they all are aimed at making every aspect of life in the region better," said Mark Policinski, OKI's CEO. "The goal is to ensure that all trips by car, bus, bike or walking are easier to do and add to the quality of life for everyone in the region."
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