Boone County has approved a resolution that would give control of Hicks Pike to the state of Kentucky in exchange for gaining control of Chambers Road.
Hicks Pike, which is 2.1 miles long, is located in southern Boone County near Interstate-75 and the Triple Crown subdivision – one of the largest suburban developments in Northern Kentucky. Hicks Pike, which is approximately 2.1 miles long, serves as a connector roadway between Richwood Road and US-42.
After months of deliberations and public meetings, the Boone County Fiscal Court approved the road transfer at a meeting on May 6. Moving forward, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will assume control and management responsibilities of Hicks Pike.
“A lot of work has gone into this item,” Judge/Executive Gary Moore said. “We informed the community that showed up at our last meeting that we would potentially be taking final action today.”
Upon finalization, Boone County will gain control of Chambers Road, or KY-2951, which KYTC controlled. Chambers Road is 2.4 miles long and runs from Richwood Road, underneath I-75, and connects to Dixie Highway, or US-25.
Regarding an implementation timeline, Franxman said that if the necessary administrative steps are completed over the next few months, the transfer could be official by year’s end.
“For it to be completely official, I think probably – I’ll cross my fingers and say the end of the year,” he said.
The transfer approval concludes a months-long process that involved hosting open forums and responding to questions from the public. On Feb. 20, the Boone County Fiscal Court hosted a special meeting where county officials presented key information about the road swap to the public. Afterwards, residents had 30 days to provide feedback to the county, which was addressed at a later fiscal court meeting.
KYTC’s six-year road plan tapped Hicks Pike for multiple improvements, including the addition of roundabouts, improvements to the pavement shoulder and installation dedicated turn lanes and multi-use paths. Additionally, KYTC would also mandate that Hicks Pike would conform to federal standards for truck traffic, meaning the road would have to accommodate up to 80,000 pounds of truck weight.
Boone County Engineer Rob Franxman said that the state of Kentucky and federal government had around $60 million earmarked for the improvement of Hicks Pike at a fiscal court meeting on March 25.
A funding projection shared during the special meeting on February 20 showed that the project’s funding would be distributed over four different phases from 2025 to 2030.
Both Franxman and Moore said it would be in the county’s financial interest to have the state take on the project due to the state’s capacity to complete it more quickly.
Boone County is no stranger to road swaps, with the practice being done multiple times throughout the 21st century. In 2005, Boone County gave the state control of Gunpowder Road, or KY-237, in exchange for local control of Frogtown Connector, Frontage Road and Violet Road. In 2014, the county gave the state control of Aero Parkway, or KY-1017, in return for local control of Limaburg Road.
