The intersection of Madison Avenue and 12th Street in Covington will be closed for about 10 days starting June 13 so crews can replace brick pavers with concrete.
“Although it’s beautiful, this is a major intersection that gets a lot of traffic, including a lot of heavy trucks making turns, and the bricks can’t handle it,” said Bill Matteoli, Covington’s assistant project engineer. “If you sit there and watch, you can literally see the bricks twisting under the tires of these trucks as they make the turn. Decorative bricks were never meant for an intersection that gets these numbers and this weight of traffic.”
The intersection has become a driving hazard and a maintenance nightmare, said Public Works Director Chris Warneford. The city has replaced the bricks as they have broken loose over the years, but since matching bricks are now hard to find, crews have been patching holes with asphalt.
“It’s been a constant battle,” he said. “And people are tired of dodging bricks.”
The $217,000 project will be limited to the intersection of Madison and 12th; the brick driving surface on Madison between 11th Street and 12th will be left as is for now, as will the one-block area of 12th between Scott Boulevard and Madison.
The bricks will be saved for future projects, and the concrete poured to replace it will have a pinkish hue to match surrounding brick that isn’t being replaced.
While the intersection is closed:
- Northbound traffic on Madison will be directed to 13th Street and then Greenup Street;
- Southbound traffic on Madison will be directed to 11th Street and then Scott Street;
- Eastbound on 12th Street will be diverted onto Russell Street;
- Westbound 12th Street traffic that comes from Scott Street will simply continue on Scott Street.
City officials decided it would be more efficient to completely shut down the intersection while work is being done, Warneford said.
“It’s better to grin and bear it and get it done and get out,” he said.