The KY 536 Scoping Study, begun by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments in fall 2014, was adopted last month on a unanimous vote by the OKI Board of Directors. The vote was the last action step necessary to identify the full alignment for improvement of the corridor across Boone, Kenton, and Campbell Counties.
OKI launched this study to identify the transportation issues in this corridor that need to be addressed in order to improve access, mobility and safe travel while enhancing the economic vitality of the region. The goal of the KY 536 Scoping Study was to reach consensus on a recommended alternative for the corridor from KY 17 to the Licking River.
The improvement plan recommended by the study’s project development team—which echoed the public’s responses—is the off-alignment option. This alternative follows the existing KY 536 east from KY 17 and shifts north onto a new segment as it approaches KY 16 to realign with KY 536 near Maverick Road. This shift redirects traffic north of White’s Tower Elementary School in accordance with feedback received from the public.
The alternative then follows the existing KY 536 until one-half mile west of Staffordsburg Road where it veers north onto a new alignment connecting directly with the existing Visalia Bridge. Between KY 17 and Staffordsburg Road Connector, this alternative is a three-lane road. From the Staffordsburg Road Connector to the Campbell County line, this alternative become a two-lane road, with the exception of an 11-foot climbing lane that would be constructed to assist trucks traveling westward from KY 177 to the crest of the Visalia Hill west of Mann Road.
To accommodate bicycle and pedestrian travel, this alternative includes eight-foot multi-use paths on both sides of KY 536, from KY 17 to KY 16, and a ten-foot multi-use path on one side of the roadway east of KY 16. The estimated cost of this off-alignment option is $86.5 million.
Public input was integral to this study. Through three open houses, three online public comment periods, and input from residents and stakeholders shared by the project development team, a good deal of feedback was received from the public.
Robyn Bancroft, the study’s project manager, believes the “entire KY 536 Scoping Study process has resulted in a recommendation that balances the concerns of local property owners who will be most directly impacted by future improvements with the transportation needs of the region at large.”
The identification of an improvement plan for this regionally-significant corridor prepares it for the future phases of development, engineering, design and funding.
The KY 536 Scoping Study Final Report and supporting documents can be found by visiting the OKI website