Boone County continued discussions about swapping control of Hicks Pike, a county road, with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Hicks Pike 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.
In exchange for relinquishing control over Hicks Pike, Boone County would gain control over Chambers Road, or KY-2951, which is controlled by the state. Chambers Road runs from Richwood Road, underneath I-75, and connects to Dixie Highway, or US-25. It’s relatively the same size as Hicks Pike at 2.4 miles in length.
The decision to approve the swap lies with the Boone County Fiscal Court. If approved, KYTC would assume ownership and management responsibilities of Hicks Pike while Boone County would get ownership and management responsibilities of Chambers Road.
“It’s more of a safety project,” Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore said during a March 25 fiscal court meeting. “Yes, adding some capacity. Really, the only place I think you’d need to add capacity is at the intersections where people would need a turn lane or those types of things. I’m not an engineer, I’m not a road designer, but to me, that’s what I would advocate for and hope that the state would build.”
On Feb. 20, the Boone County Fiscal Court held a public forum where community members posed questions and expressed their concerns regarding the proposed road swap. Many people’s concerns centered around road and safety conditions, continued development, semi-truck traffic, and the negative impact construction might have on emergency services.
During the March 25 meeting, the fiscal court discussed the road swap, where they considered public feedback from the February community forum, as well as a separate event hosted by Commissioner Chet Hand and Rep. Marianne Proctor. The fiscal court’s discussion considered prior public feedback throughout their discussions. No legislative action was taken.
“I think folks are generally at ease with the idea now that we’ve had some time to answer their questions,” Hand said.
Proctor corroborated Hand’s analysis, telling the court that the primary feedback they received revolved around local control and the design process.
“I don’t think anybody discounts the need to expand the road or improve the road, but what does that look like? And if there’s a way, there could be an open forum for that, and that public feedback would be considered in this design process, I think that would solve a lot of the design problems,” she said.
KYTC’s six-year road plan has flagged Hicks Pike for several improvements, including the addition of roundabouts, improvements to the pavement shoulder and installation dedicated turn lanes and multi-use paths.
In addition, KYTC would also mandate that Hicks Pike would conform to federal standards for truck traffic. This means the road would have to accommodate up to 80,000 pounds of truck weight.
Boone County Engineer Rob Franxman said the state of Kentucky and the federal has earmarked approximately $60 million for the improvement of Hicks Pike.
Franxman, along with Moore, stated that it would be in the county’s financial interest to have the state take on the project. Boone County officials believe that if the state has control of the project, it could be completed more quickly and efficiently.
“It’s just not the type of project the county has the funding to manage as we’ve operated in the past,” Moore said.
To close the discussion, Hand tried to alleviate public concerns regarding Boone County’s role in the project if it relinquishes control. Hand emphasized that Boone County would still have the ability to provide input and feedback.
“It’s not a competition between the county and the state on these projects,” Hand said. “We are generally going to work together on these things,” he said. “There’s an incentive for the county to do that. It’s not a hostile relationship once we give control over that they’re not going to listen to what we have to say and what we’re looking for.”
Following the discussion, the fiscal court placed the item on its April 8 meeting agenda. Franxman said he would present the plan to the court at the meeting.
