As the summer comes to an end, so do many road repair and maintenance projects, meaning less traffic and smoother roads for drivers.
When you drive over the same pothole every day, it may lead you to wonder, “Who is supposed to be taking care of this?”
We’re here to answer that question.
Depending on the road, these projects are either handled by the state, the county or local municipalities.
Read on to find out the who, what, when, where and why of road repairs in Northern Kentucky.
Who pays for road repairs?
Long story short: taxes. But, as it is with most things, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
State transportation funds come from a combination of state road funds, state general funds, state-restricted funds, and federal funds, said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6 Public Information Officer Jake Ryle in an email to LINK nky.
Once state legislatures approve KYTC’s budget, Ryle said, those funds are distributed between the 12 state districts. District 6, which includes NKY, spreads those funds between five branches: permits, bridge preservation, operations/pavement management, roadside maintenance and roadway maintenance.
For roads owned by cities, the cost of repairs and maintenance typically comes from the city’s capital improvement fund, said Erlanger City Administrator Peter Glenn. The money in this fund comes from taxes. Cities also get some funding from the state for local road repairs.
How are roads picked for repair and maintenance?
For drivers who live and work in the area, it is easy to spot which roads need repair, but how do the cities pick which roads to work on and in what order?
Glenn said this comes down to the pavement condition index. In Erlanger, Glenn said, the city is divided into sections that are periodically inspected for repair needs, and the information from those inspections is entered into infrastructure management software, which provides a pavement condition index.
The index basically grades the streets on their need of repair, “so of the many, many streets we have, we start addressing the worst,” Glenn said. The street’s geographic location is also taken into consideration, so if a road is near another that is getting repairs, “it just makes sense to do them both at the same time.”
Once the repairs and the order is decided upon, Glenn said that is put into Erlanger’s three-year plan, which is available on the city’s website. From there, the city begins the design process, which is where the public can get involved.
“We have public workshops for all of our street improvement projects where we invite the public to come to meet with our public works department and to hear and understand what improvements are being proposed for their street,” Glenn said. “And to provide us any input on any kind of special needs they might have.”
When do repair and maintenance happen?
Road repairs are done weather permitting, so that typically means March through November.
In NKY, throughout August and September, two massive road resurfacing projects intermittently shut down portions of I-471 and I-275.
“We know closing lanes is never fun for anyone involved. That’s why we focus on limiting traffic disruptions whenever/wherever possible,” Ryle said. “This includes doing most work on the interstates in our district during the overnight hours.”
In late September, all or parts of 29 roads in Covington underwent road resurfacing and the first week of October, the city’s West Side neighborhood had a similar round of resurfacing.
“Drivers will be a lot happier,” said Bill Matteoli, assistant director of Covington’s Public Works Department, in a recent press release. “We know there are a number of streets that need attention, and we tackle as many as possible each year.”
How can drivers find out when and where work is happening?
Most local road repairs are posted on city websites, and signs are typically posted around their area leading up to street closures.
KYTC District 6 is constantly updating its social media with closure updates. Ryle suggests anyone interested in knowing what closures are happening near them check out the District 6 Roadshow, which “highlights all of the ongoing projects in our 11 county district” and is updated daily.
