Kenton County is pledging a $1 million match toward a road expansion project if the federal government approves its application for a grant that helps fund local infrastructure projects.
On Tuesday, the Kenton County Fiscal Court passed a resolution that authorized an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to match federal RAISE Grant funds for the widening and alignment of a section road on KY-536 — from Calvary Road to KY-17 — that links unincorporated Kenton County to Florence and Interstate-75.
“This is a big deal,” Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said during the meeting.
RAISE, or Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, are discretionary federal grants that help municipalities, counties and Tribal governments complete critical freight and passenger transportation projects. In total, $1.5 billion worth of grant funding was announced for 2024.
The maximum amount of funding a governmental body can receive from a RAISE grant is $25 million.
In essence, Kenton County committed to appropriate around $1 million per year to the project over a one to three-year period if approved for a RAISE grant. The construction estimate for the expansion project is approximately $38 million, according to fiscal court documents.
“This agreement would be for a million dollar contribution from Kenton County over the next one to three years if we are successful with being awarded that grant,” Kenton County Public Works Director Spencer Stork said.
The project is part of the larger KY-536 expansion project that would realign and widen the road from two lanes to four. Multi-use paths will also be constructed to frame both sides of KY-536.
Knochelmann mentioned that it was the third time the county had applied for a RAISE grant.
“We’re hoping that the third time’s a charm,” Knochelmann said.
In addition to Kenton County, the City of Independence and the City of Taylor Mill are also involved in the RAISE grant application.
At a city council meeting on Feb. 5, the Independence city council approved a letter authorizing financial support from the city as part of the Kenton County Fiscal Court’s application.
“The county contacted me a couple weeks ago – they’re getting ready to submit that application – and wanted to make sure that we were on board for that pledge,” Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman said during the meeting.
If the grant application is approved, Independence committed to providing a local match of $50,000 over a three to five-year period for the project.
At a meeting on Feb. 13, the Taylor Mill city council also approved a letter authorizing financial support from the city as part of the county’s application. Taylor Mill committed to appropriate up to $12,000, or .5% of the grant amount, over a three to five year period after grant acceptance.
