Community weighs in on Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project

BY KENTON HORNBECK AND ALECIA RICKER | LINK nky

Transportation officials recently held a town hall meeting to hear from the public on what the Covington mayor describes as “one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the history of the region.”

Transportation officials from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) held court at the Kenton County Building Wednesday to field questions, ease concerns and share information with the Northern Kentucky community regarding the highly anticipated Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project.

Originally completed in 1963, the Brent Spence Bridge was supposed to carry around 80,000 vehicles a day. In 2022, it has carried approximately double that, creating a bottleneck of traffic moving in and out of Kentucky and Ohio. If the bridge is out of service, it forces drivers to find alternate routes, which in turn congests local traffic and puts strain on other bridges.

Construction will affect the Covington neighborhoods of Mainstrasse Village, Westside, Peaselburg and Mutter Gottes/ Central Business District, along with other Kentucky cities such as Fort Wright, Fort Mitchell, Park Hills and Ludlow. With Amazon and DHL hubs located at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, the indirect impact of a new connection moves beyond just Kenton County.

In February, Mark Policinski, CEO of Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, noted that “$1 billion of freight moves across that bridge every day. And that’s our link to the world of commerce,” meaning the impact of another

Ohio River connection impacts businesses in all three Northern Kentucky counties.

As of now, much of the fundamental design process is completed. What still needs to be hashed out are aesthetic design elements and how the new bridge will fit within the surrounding communities. Covington Mayor Joe Meyer encouraged residents and business owners to attend the town hall meetings in order to understand the short and long term impacts of the project on the regional transportation network.

“This is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the history of the region, and with its proximity to our community, Covington has a vested interest in continuing to shape its size and look,” Meyer said.

Project officials held two different meetings on Dec. 14, one from noon to 2 p.m. and another from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The crowd from the earliest meeting was fairly large, consisting mainly of retirees and community officials, such as outgoing 65th District Rep. Buddy Wheatley (D-Covington).

Renderings and construction plans outlined the perimeter of the Reidlin Schott Community Room, with KYTC and ODOT representatives on standby to provide further context to audience members.

“Stormwater drainage and aesthetics, those are common themes that we have heard from neighborhoods ahead of these meetings,” said Stacee Hans, KYTC Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project manager.

“These are conversations, input and feedback that we’d like to get from the neighborhoods, as well as pedestrians and cyclists.”

The infrastructure project will be one of the largest and most expensive in the region’s history.

From Fort Mitchell to just north of the Western Hills viaduct in Cincinnati, 7.8 miles of interstate is slated to be redesigned and upgraded. A new five-lane companion bridge will be built directly to the west of the Brent Spence Bridge, with the original being revitalized. The companion bridge is going to be oriented toward interstate travel while the original bridge will hold mostly local traffic. Overall, the project will cost in the $3 billion to $3.8 billion range.

“If you’ve driven the corridor, you know that one of our absolute needs is to improve traffic flow, level of service and improve safety,” Hans said. “We can do that by looking at our shoulders. We can do that by looking at weaving movements, correct geometric deficiencies, but another key component of our purpose in need is to maintain connections to key regional and national transportation corridors.”

The evening session offered perspective from homeowners and residents regarding unanswered questions about the impact of the project.

Project officials noted in their presentation how, in addition to a lower speed limit, safety will be implemented into the design through functional design elements. One resident asked the presenter how these new elements and lower speed limit will hold drivers accountable.

“How will anyone guarantee that drivers will actually slow down to the new speed limit?” she asked.

Her request was addressed with a reminder that the lowered speed limit is part of a proposed “collector distributor system.”

“We have the opportunity that people will innately slow down because you have traffic going on and coming off,” Hans said. “The interstate traffic (I-71/I75) is pulled off in the new bridge, the connector bridge.”

Attendees were encouraged to visit the City of Covington website the following day to see the renderings and concepts.

Later, the same concerned resident voiced her disapproval over the impacts for the city as a whole.

“I came here wanting to know what will be done to offset the impacts,” she said. “People don’t want to be blanketed in blacktop. Covington doesn’t exist to continue to get gobbled up so that people can get from frickin’ Michigan to Florida.”

The public has been encouraged to provide their feedback about the project online, at: publicinput.com/bsbc

Where to recycle Christmas trees in Covington

Covington is teaming up with Rumpke Waste & Recycling to offer both pick-up and drop-off options as part of their 10th annual Holiday Tree Recycling Program.

“Rather than take up space in a land-fill, the tree is better off shredded and turned into mulch that can be used to beautify garden spots around the city,” said Stephanie Bacher, the city’s solid waste and recycling coordinator.

Residents have two options:

Arrange to have the tree picked up on regular trash collection days by calling Rumpke at least 48 hours in advance at (800) 8288171. This begins Jan. 4 and lasts until Jan. 18.

Drop off trees from Dec. 26 through Jan. 18 at three different locations: South Covington at the parking lot on Tripoli and Hands Pike, adjacent to Neighborhood Park; Ur- ban Forestry Garage at 1700 Montague Road in Devou Park; Parking lot at 14 Pete Rose Pier. Follow Bakewell Street to its foot, go through the cut in the Ohio River floodwall, then look to the west in the gravel area.

In order to prepare their trees for pickup, residents should remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel, and other decorations. Trees should not be placed in plastic bags.

NKU will not oversee Northern Kentucky charter schools

A charter school pilot is coming to Northern Kentucky, but the region’s largest university will not be its authorizer.

Northern Kentucky University Board of Regents declined to take action Tuesday to be the authorizer — the institution that can approve, deny, and oversee a charter school — ending months of speculation about a project for which they initially didn’t know they were even involved.

In declining to take action, the university effectively declined to be the authorizer.

Instead, local school boards will be required to put forward two members from each local board of a district located in a county that contains four or more local school districts. These members will become the substitute pilot project authorizer.

Dilapidated building transformed to accommodate longtime Covington dental practice

Dr. Barry Applegate’s dentist office has been a fixture in Covington since his practice opened in 1993. As his business evolved, so too did the needs of the space it was operating in.

After nearly 30 years, Applegate is renovating the space next door — decking it out with state-of-the-art dental technology he hopes can take his practice to the next level. The address, 322 Greenup St., is the former home of CoCo’s, a shuttered Covington bar. Applegate’s practice currently operates out of 324 Greenup.

Applegate Dentistry’s new space will be filled with technologies that can meet the sensibilities of a modern dentist. The construction company in charge of the project is North Shore Construction & Development Services out of Cincinnati.

Each bay includes an x-ray machine so patients won’t have to be transported away from their initial treatment room. Applegate’s practice has upgraded from a 2-D x-ray machine to a 3-D x-ray machine, something Applegate refers to as “a big deal in dentistry.”

Next door, Applegate plans on transforming his former office space into a med-spa which feature amenities such as chemical peels, facials and platelet-rich plasma treatments. Upstairs, the practice will have a “family room” that will feature a fully stocked drink fridge and large televisions.

Patients will be treated to a second-story view of downtown Covington.

Once Applegate moves into the renovated space, he plans to add to his staff.

Record expungement clinics offer clean slate

A recent clinic sought to help applicants remove previous charged from their criminal record to help them earn a fresh start.

Record expungement is the legal process of removing an arrest, charge, or conviction made against an individual so that it may not be disclosed on background checks. Those with an expunged record can honestly answer “no” on any application inquiring about prior convictions.

Legislation passed in 2016 allowed for certain felony convictions, misdemeanors, and traffic violations to be expunged from one’s record if certain requirements are met. If an individual had been only charged and not convicted or acquitted, the charges could potentially still appear on background checks, thereby creating additional hurdles to job seekers and renters.

Programs like Clean Slate Kentucky offer aid by way of legal advice and financial assistance, giving applicants an ally in the pursuit to move forward in their lives. Partnering with a variety of nonprofits, the attorneys at Legal Aid of the Bluegrass walk applicants through the process and offer advice along the way.

Partnering with Goodwill, Legal Aid of the Bluegrass offers these monthly expungement clinics throughout Northern Kentucky. Events are posted on Goodwill and Legal Aid of the Bluegrass websites.

Victorian at Riverside makes historic move to allow male residents

Once the home for only “aged and indigent ladies,” the Victorian at Riverside is getting with the times by opening residency to men as well as women.

“I would see the calls we kept turning people down, and most of these ladies have been married,” CEO Carrie VanDerzee said. “They have sons. They have grandsons. They know men exist in the world. This isn’t

As the facility has grown and changed over the years, additional levels of care have been added as demand increases. Soon, memory care services will be offered alongside assisted living and respite care services.

The new level of care will be provided by staff specifically trained for these patients through programs and certifications through the Alzheimer’s Association. And it’s not just the nursing and care staff who will be trained to work with these residents; the Activities Director is in the midst of an art-specific course for memory care residents through Miami University. VanDerzee is excited about the program the director will be planning from this education.

Getting with the times was important to the Victorian at Riverside, and the change was made.

“Can’t go with the 1886 model of doing business,” VanDerzee said. “It’s almost 2023.”

Police ID Covington homicide victim, suspect

The victim and suspect in a Saturday morning shooting in Covington have been identified by police.

Cincinnati resident Antwon Mulder, 33, was identified by police as the man who was shot in a home at 203 W. 21st St. around 7:41 a.m. on Saturday. First responders rushed him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Police have identified 28-year-old Danny Tarrell White as the suspect in the shooting. He is considered armed and dangerous, so police are asking residents to not approach or try to apprehend him, but instead to call 911 if he is spotted.

Police are also asking for information regarding his whereabouts. Anyone with information may contact detectives at (859) 292-2272, or call Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040.