COVINGTON, KY – The Mayor and City Commission recently approved the issuance of requests for proposals (RFP) to qualified contractors for the construction of Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Licking River Greenway Trail (LRG) project.
Phases 2 and 3 of the trail project will connect the trail from the Clayton-Meyer Park to Austinburg Park (Phase 2) and ultimately to Randolph Park (Phase 3). Once all phases are completed, the trail will extend approximately two miles in length from 8th Street to 22nd Street.
Construction of Phases 2 and 3 includes the paving of the trail and features amenities such as additional benches, garbage cans, bike racks, trail entry signage and rule signage.
Parks and Recreation Manager Rosie Santos stated, “Covington strives to be a leader in trail development for Northern Kentucky. With the upcoming development of Riverfront Commons, starting with the construction of new trails along the Ohio River and the great success of the fitness trails on the west-side of Devou Park, we already have strong assets and capital development plans. We envision Covington as a hub for urban active outdoor recreation. The next step is to enhance the connectivity between the trail systems to encourage more people to take advantage of the infrastructure.”
Regularly maintained by volunteers, the LRG Trail was created as an effort to build an interconnected urban trail through the Licking River corridor, connecting the cities of Covington, Taylor Mill, Wilder and Newport and other nearby trail systems like the Riverfront Commons. The new paved section of the Licking River Greenway Trail will include ADA accessible entrances located at parks in Austinburg and the Eastside.
Phase 1 of the trail was completed in November 2012 and features the first .5 mile of the trails. Construction for this phase was located behind the floodwall around 22nd Street and traveled north towards Clayton-Meyer Park.
Recently completed, the trail underwent construction at 21st Street due to a landslide that occurred late last year. This section of the trail had been closed due to this occurrence, but has recently been restored and reopened for use.
Development Director/City Engineer Mike Yeager stated, “We’re excited to start construction on this project. The addition of the paved trails will complement the existing LRG Trail which runs from Holmes High School to Randolph Park, creating new river access points while making connections with parks, schools and other existing facilities in adjoining neighborhoods.”
Once the contractor is selected, the City anticipates construction to tentatively begin in the spring and be completed by the end of summer.