Construction work that started last fall continues on the Sixth Street and Scott Boulevard Restoration Project.
More appealing look will invite economic investment
COVINGTON, Ky. - The ongoing effort to improve the look, “feel” and walkability of Covington’s primary business district to make it more inviting to prospective businesses and talent is continuing.
The Covington Board of Commissioners is expected to approve two contracts Tuesday night that would get engineering design work under way for “streetscape improvement” projects covering:
- About 1,230 feet of Madison Avenue from Eighth Street to 11th Street.
- About 1,400 feet of Seventh Street from Greenup Street west to Washington Street.
The Commission last week agreed to add to its consent agenda two orders accepting the bids of the same firm, WSP USA, a professional services company with more than 500 offices around the world and 100 in the United States.
Both projects will include things like moving utilities underground, replacing sidewalks, roadway resurfacing, putting traffic signals on “mast arms,” and adding street trees and decorative street lights. It would match the streetscape improvements already finished on Madison Avenue north of Eighth Street and other areas.
Covington Economic Development Director Tom West said streetscape projects bring tangible return.
“Whether or not downtown streets are perceived to be ‘inviting’ can have a big impact on whether businesses locate there, whether talented workers take jobs there, and whether tourists linger and spend money,” West said. “These projects are an investment by the City to encourage and complement private investment while improving the safety, functionality and aesthetics of these corridors.”
The $345,268.84 contract for the Madison Avenue Streetscape Project will also include signal improvements to reduce delays, aka synchronizing lights.
The $349,632.72 contract for the Seventh Street Streetscape Project also includes a redesign of the parking area between Madison Avenue and Washington Street.
The design work will begin soon and proceed through the summer.
Eighty percent of the funding - for both the design of the projects and their eventual construction - is coming from a federal grant program earmarked for such projects.
A similar project - the Sixth Street and Scott Boulevard Restoration Project - is currently in the construction phase in an “L-shaped” area that consists of Scott Boulevard from Fourth Street to Sixth Street and turns the corner to include the north side of Sixth between Scott and Madison Avenue.
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