COVINGTON, Ky. - The $875,000 reconstruction of the western entrance to Covington’s riverfront to make it safer and more accessible to pedestrians took another leap of progress today in a very visible way.

 

Workers with Riegler Blacktop poured concrete today to form one side of the roadbed for the rebuilt Johnston Street as it turns the corner onto Third Street.

 

The project includes the full reconstruction of Johnson Street/Rivercenter Boulevard from Third Street east to the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

 

The reconstructed road is being transformed from four lanes to three to accommodate a wider sidewalk on the south side, where the existing sidewalk was unusually narrow. The sidewalk on the north (and west) side has already been rebuilt. The project will also include new lighting and new storm drains to handle run-off from any future redevelopment of the nearby IRS site.

 

The corridor is an important connection between hotels to the west and a range of attractions to the east, including the Convention Center, restaurants and offices in the RiverCenter complex, the Roebling Point District, and the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

 

The goal, City officials have said, is to create a functional and appealing roadway, sidewalks and streetscape “that contribute to Covington’s economic development and vitality.”  

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