Fort Thomas City Council approved bids for two city projects at its April meeting. The bids were for improvements to the River Road entrance into Tower Park and a much larger Midway Business District streetscape project.
River Road into Tower Park
As part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve Tower Park, the council approved a bid for $85,065 from Eaton Asphalt to widen the entrance at River Road near the VA Medical Center.
“It’s very tight, even with two cars approaching at the same time, let alone when we have box trucks and other large equipment that go through there,” said City Administrator Matt Kremer. “We have other paving projects in the park, and with the sports complex being completed, this is the time to do that.”
The city has worked with Eaton Asphalt before, and Kremer said he had great confidence in their work. The bid came in slightly lower than expected as well.
“It’s going to widen that area to allow cars to come in and out easier, but also it’ll be large enough for even a semi to get through when that’s necessary without damaging or our property,” said Kremer.
He noted that in the past, some trucks have damaged property when trying to fit through. Kremer said the plan is to have the project completed this budget year, but if not, it will roll over to the next.
Council member Adam Blau said that with the improvements to the park and the sports complex, the city can expect more sports events and possibly larger buses to bring teams from across the region.
Midway Business District
The project to improve the streetscape in the Midway Business District involves burying utility lines along South Fort Thomas Avenue and improving curbs, sidewalks, landscaping and crosswalks in the area. Kremer got the bids for the project just in time for the March council meeting, but he said he wanted more time before a vote to let city staff examine the bid closely.
The winning bid was for $4.8 million from Prus Construction, which was the general management company for the recent Tower Park playground renovation.
Kremer said the group did a “phenomenal job.” They also worked on the previous Midway Business District renovation phase and are familiar with the area.
Kremer gave the council the schematics and the locations of telephone poles in their council packets. He explained that the issue of telephone poles has been a focus because he wanted to be clear that some of the poles will still remain in the district, although they will no longer be on the avenue.
He said the city worked closely with Duke Energy on the project. Staff also spoke with businesses whose customer traffic will be affected by the project.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with the businesses,” said Kremer. “This is going to be inconvenient for them for a while. In the long term, this is going to be fantastic. It’s going to be a lot safer.”
The project will be within next year’s budget, but Kremer said he wanted to get the council’s approval to sign the bid to get the ball moving sooner.
The plan is to start work this summer, but the construction company still needs to work out much of the project’s timing.
