After years of delays, a key piece of Newport’s long-awaited Carothers Road and U.S. 27 corridor improvement project is finally moving forward.
The Newport Board of Commissioners voted to approve a settlement agreement at a special meeting on June 24 with Gator Newport Partners regarding real property sales and easements along Carothers Road.
The sale and easements were necessary to complete the long-awaited U.S. 27 corridor and Carothers Road improvement projects.
At the Nov. 18, 2024, meeting, the commission voted to appoint counsel for the city to institute condemnation proceedings for the two parcels of real estate owned by Gator Newport Partners along Carothers Road.
“These projects have been sitting around for quite some time,” Newport Assistant City Manager Brian Steffen said at the Nov. 18 meeting. “Carothers has been many, many years now, we’ve been trying to get that going, and all of it hinges on this.”
The U.S. 27 improvements in the underpass corridor aim to improve traffic and pedestrian safety and access in the area. Improvements include sidewalks, streetscapes and access management from 11th Street south to Carothers Road and from Carothers Road to the city border with Southgate.
A more detailed report on the project can be found here.
Gator Newport Partners is based in Miami; however, the company owns the shopping center in Newport that houses businesses like Aldi, Ross, and Burlington. An area of U.S. 27 along that property is where the city needed an easement for underground utilities.
The city said the easement wouldn’t take land away from Gator, and they would be compensated; however, during the special meeting, Steffen said the city also discovered it needed additional property along U.S. 27. That property is needed to expand the bus turn-off lane heading northbound on U.S. 27 by PNC Bank.
The original estimated amount for the underground easement was $62,500. The additional 1,210 square feet the city needed brought the cost to $81,424.
Steffen said that the easement acquisition was about two and a half years in the making, and it is still not finished. The city has a hearing on July 10 with Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward. Steffen said that hearing is procedural as they have already agreed in principle with the property owner but are waiting for Ward to approve the interlocutory agreement, which allows access to the property.
Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski said he was asked a lot about the project because people are excited about it. He asked if the city had an updated project timeline.
Steffen said there is no timeline for the project’s completion at this point.
“We’re certainly not ready to go to bid right now,” he said. “This is a huge piece to get out of the way, which was the main impediment to moving forward.”
Steffen said there may also be additional opportunities for public engagement.
“I’m also getting asked a lot about this, and really pleased to reach this point,” said Newport Vice Mayor Julie Smith-Morrow.
