At least once a year, a representative of Rural and Municipal Aid from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) presents recommended projects for the rural secondary program for the county review.
Andy Yeager from KYTC visited Kenton and Campbell Counties to present the fiscal year 2022-2023 recommended projects.
KYTC District 6 serves the 11 counties that make up Northern Kentucky.
Kenton County rural road projects
The transportation cabinet has allotted the county $576,838 for rural road projects.
For routine traffic and maintenance costs, the transportation cabinet set aside $186,400. This breaks down to $4,742.88 a mile for 39.301 miles of road repairs. Yeager said they could typically bump up the allotted amount if the cost should increase, as they have in the past.
The County also received $115,368 in Flex Funds, which the Fiscal Courts has to vote on to determine whether they will use the Flex Funding for road projects. According to the KYTC website, these are funds from the rural secondary program to help counties with their resurfacing needs.
To determine the Flex Funds, the state’s Division of Maintenance reviews the rural secondary roads in each county. It determines the necessary funding needed to upkeep those roads during that fiscal year.
Each county applies for the use of their Flex Funds yearly.
County administration expenses came out to $3,875.
That subtotal comes to $386,563. A free balance, or what was left from last year, which was $8,884, gets added to that for a total of $395,447. KYTC uses that total to recommend which rural secondary projects should be done in the fiscal year.
The first project that Yeager recommended was the resurfacing of Moffett Road (Ky 2042) from Rector Road to George W Bach Road for a total of 2.148 miles. This project’s estimated cost is $245,087. This road was last resurfaced in 2011.
The second project he recommended was for a high friction surface on Visalia Road (Ky 536) from Mann Road to Ky 177, totaling 0.761 miles. This project’s estimated cost is $50,000. This road was last resurfaced in 2021 when the high friction surface was taken off. This project is to put it back on.
The last project that Yeager recommended was the resurfacing of Green Road (Ky 2043) from US 25 to Cruises Creek for a total of 3.298. This project’s estimated cost is $214,370. This road was last resurfaced in 2014. This project would bring the budget over by $19,283.
The total resurfacing length is 5.446 miles.
Should the county vote to use the Flex Fund, the recommended project is the resurfacing of Parkers Grove (Ky 3083) from Ky 2046 to Ky 14. This project’s estimated cost is $72,000 (with a remaining $24,065). The road was last resurfaced in 2014.
Campbell County rural road projects
The transportation cabinet has allotted the county $753,523 for rural road projects.
For routine traffic and maintenance costs, the transportation cabinet set aside $229,000. This breaks down to $5,305.35 a mile for 43.164 miles of road repairs.
The county received $150,705 in Flex Funds; again, the Fiscal Courts will have to vote to determine whether they will use the Flex Funding for road projects or not.
County administration expenses came out to $3,875.
That subtotal comes to $369,943. A free balance or what was left from last year, which was $29,099, gets added to that for a total of $399,042. KYTC uses that total to recommend which rural secondary projects should be done in the fiscal year.
The first project that Yeager recommended was the resurfacing of Flagg Springs Pike (Ky 10) from Sheanshang Road to 0.18 miles South of Ky 735 for a total of 2.711 miles. The project’s estimated cost is $200,000.
The last project that Yeager recommended was the resurfacing of Wesley Chapel Road (Ky 1121) from Ky 10 to California X Roads for a total of 2.943 miles. With about $195,000 left in the budget and this project’s estimated cost of $206,000. This project would bring the budget over by about $11,000.
Yeager said depending on how the contracts are awarded; they should be able to complete both projects this year, regardless of being over budget.
The total resurfacing length of these projects is 5.654 miles.
Should the county vote to use the Flex Fund, the recommended project for that is the resurfacing of Carthage Road (Ky 1996) from Ky 10 to Ky 9 for a total of 1.892 miles. This project’s estimated cost is $142,00 (with a remaining amount of $8,705).
If the counties were to need additional road funds, they could apply for the Discretionary Fund administered by the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid.
The Discretionary Fund covers projects across the state that are strictly related to transportation and could be anything from resurfacing roads to bridge replacement. According to the KYTC website, these funds are only available when county officials have exhausted all other funding, such as flex funds, to be considered.
