BOONE COUNTY, KY. – U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Elaine L. Chao was joined today by Kentucky Secretary of Transportation Greg Thomas, Congressman Thomas Massie, and Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore to announce $75 million in infrastructure grants, including both Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) and Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants, for the Northern Kentucky region.
“This $75 million investment in this key infrastructure in Northern Kentucky will increase economic development, improve the quality of life and help create jobs for the hard-working people of this region,” said Secretary Chao.
Secretary Chao is announcing an INFRA grant of $67,445,000 for improvements on I-71 and I-75 south of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), along with an additional $7,152,467 AIP grant to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport.
The INFRA grant supports a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet project in Boone County, at the I-71/I-75 Interchanges south of the airport. The grant will replace the existing conventional diamond interchanges at KY 338 (Richwood Road) and KY 536 (Mt. Zion Road) with double crossover diamond interchanges.
The project also includes construction of approximately 2 miles of northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes along I-71/I-75 north of the KY 536 interchange. The work will eliminate two existing at-grade railroad crossings and complete a new single-point urban interchange at US 25, and provide a railroad bridge overpass to provide a fully grade-separated crossing. This will reduce peak travel times along a congested freight and commuter corridor, with the new interchanges generating safety benefits.
INFRA grants support the Administration’s commitment to fixing our nation’s crumbling infrastructure by creating opportunities for all levels of government and the private sector to fund infrastructure, using innovative approaches to improve the necessary processes for building significant projects, and increasing accountability for the projects that are built.
The more-than $7 million AIP grant will be used for three projects at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, one of the fifty busiest, and fastest growing, airports in the country. The projects include rehabilitation of the apron at Concourse A, constructing a de-icing pad and facilities, and improving the baggage handling system at Concourse A.
For more information on INFRA, please visit www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants. To learn more about AIP, visit www.faa.gov/airports/aip/2018_aip_grants/.
