The ongoing conversation between the cities of Covington and Newport, their residents, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about the 4th Street Bridge replacement project continued Monday night at a Newport special caucus meeting.
Newport invited KYTC to answer residents’ questions about the progress of the new bridge. The current bridge, built in 1936, connects Covington and Newport across the Licking River.
The new design includes a four-lane bridge and two 12-foot-wide shared-use paths for walking and cycling on either side. Citizens on both sides of the river have noted concerns about the number of lanes and connectivity between sidewalks and the bridge to surrounding areas.
KYTC did not share any new renderings during the meeting. KYTC District 6 Chief District Engineer Bob Yeager said newer concepts are being vetted now, and by October, he would like to have a final plan to present. Additionally, he said he would like to start construction next year.
Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said the new bridge is not a four-lane bridge but, technically, two separate two-lane bridges. The lanes going east and west will be separated by a concrete barrier.
“There are some advantages ( of separate bridges) that regardless of how much traffic you carry, because if a bridge has to go down for, say, deck replacement, we could theoretically put all the traffic on one bridge and then do that and then switch it over to the other,” Yeager said.
Newport’s Westside Citizen’s Coalition members have an open letter addressed to Newport City leaders explaining why they are against a four-lane bridge, which was shared with LINK nky. Residents have previously and continue to say they want a three-lane bridge, not a four-lane one.
“A three-lane bridge with expanded pedestrian and bicycle pathways, and built-in considerations for future streetcar or light-rail expansion will not constrict traffic flows nor cause congestion, will save on construction and material costs (tax dollars), will better protect our residents and neighborhoods, and will be an accelerant to the future we want not only in the westside but in all of greater Newport and the surrounding communities,” the letter states.
The letter asks Newport to denounce the four-lane bridge design. It states that Newport’s East Row Historic Foundation and Clifton Neighborhood Association also support its ideas.
Chair of the East Row Historic Foundation Jason Kramb asked at the meeting about connectivity between sidewalks, the bridge and areas surrounding the bridge such as parks.
Kramb pointed to the “Spoke” design from the Devou Good Foundation that was presented to Newport last year. He said it had “massive connections” with loops, circles and ramps that allowed connections underneath the approach to the bridge up to the Ovation area.
“Spoke and all the concepts that we enjoyed and liked way back early on had lots of connections from under the bridge, the west side on the city side in front of the floodwall, to get from the west side,” Kramb said. “To not have to deal with the traffic issues and the pedestrian issues at the roundabout to have other connections under the approach around and up to the floodwall up to the bridge.”
Guidugli Jr. said the city has brought up connectivity year after year and is working toward solutions. He said the city is currently in the fundraising process to get money to create a Festival Park design, which would also allow for an opportunity for ramping in other ways to get down to the park.
Guidugli sits on the bridge’s aesthetics committee and said one thing they have focused on is an overlook that connects a greater footprint to the top of the floodwall.
“Because of the federal dollars, that’s all they can do is meet what was there they (KYTC) cannot add to that—we (the city) can add to that,” he said. “I have advocated for a sidewalk on the west side that connects to the top of the existing flood wall so that you don’t have to cross the roundabout if you’re traveling to the west side of the city. All those conversations are ongoing.”
He said there are a lot of things in the works in determining whether or not the ideas are going to be able to be supported financially.
The topic of large trucks being allowed on the bridge was also briefly discussed. Kramb said residents would like large trucks to not be permitted on the bridge.
Yeager said at the meeting that the current bridge is underutilized because the weight limit restricts trucks from crossing it.
“If it’s a state road, and it’s state-maintained, and it uses state funds, then it has to be truck-worthy,” Yeager said.
Additionally, Yeager said the federal law allows a truck, as long as it’s not over 80,000 pounds, to drive on any state-maintained road within 15 miles of the interstate, which covers all of Covington and Newport.
