The Kenton County Schools Board of Education has given the stamp of approval for the final development plan for renovations to circulation infrastructure at River Ridge Elementary in Villa Hills.
The board cast its unanimous vote Monday night, which officially allows the district to put the project out to bid. Construction is slated to begin in March.
The renovations will focus largely on remedying an issue called stacking, wherein cars line up against each other along Amsterdam Road, from which drivers enter the campus, leading to traffic congestion and safety hazards. Naturally, this is more of a problem at the beginning and end of school days when parents come to pick up their kids.
“I know everyone is interested to make that happen,” Superintendent Henry Webb said of resolving the stacking issue.
The board had approved some preliminary plans in September, although initial planning for the renovations dates back to 2023. The 2023 plans stalled due to issues with easements near the school and had to be redone.
Other parts of the project include fixing some of the area’s drainage issues, expanding the playground and installing new sidewalks and a connecting walkway from the campus to the nearby Sanctuary Village neighborhood.
“The good news is this design has not changed from what we talked about in September,” said Chief Operations Officer Matt Rigg, except for some additional work to address other areas of deteriorated sidewalk the design team had discovered. This work will tack on an additional $500,000 to the project, bringing the total expense for the district up to $4.5 million, according to district documents.
In spite of the additions, Rigg said, the primary focus of the project is still the stacking.
“The safety concern that’s being addressed by getting the cars off of Amsterdam is our first priority, and we’re very happy to finally be able to do that,” Rigg told the board Monday night.
To accomplish this, the plan calls for the construction of a long, looping road around the building, which would then terminate in a new parking lot. The new lot will contain about 90 new spaces, and the loop would be able to accommodate about 150 lined-up cars, Rigg said.
The district hopes to choose a construction bid by January and complete the work by August.