COVINGTON, Ky. - Northbound Amsterdam Road running from Park Hills into Covington will close Monday morning to through traffic to make way for site work related to a pending housing development on the border of the two cities.

 

Signs alerting drivers to the closure will direct them to a detour using Sleepy Hollow Road and Dixie Highway.

 

However, the southbound lane of Amsterdam - which at its northernmost end is split into separate lanes with a large median in-between - will remain open for the time being.

 

Park Hills officials announced the closure this week on their website and with signs along the road.

 

Developer Paul Zeltwanger of Joshua One said the closure is part of preliminary site work related to the Park Pointe development, which eventually will build 74 single-family homes on 27.7 acres in the hillside above West Pike Street as it becomes Dixie Highway. The site is the former Hilltop Campus of Gateway Community & Technical College.

 

The initial work will entail clearing the site so Duke Energy can relocate utilities where a new storm sewer detention basin will be built to handle rain runoff from the development.

 

The closure of northbound Amsterdam from about Patton Drive is permanent, as it will become the site of the detention pond and other storm water infrastructure. The Covington City Commission voted to legally vacate its part of that road several weeks ago.

 

The southbound lane will close at some point during construction of Park Pointe but will eventually be widened to handle two lanes of traffic.

 

Meanwhile, Zeltwanger said site work directly related to the housing development could begin next month and will proceed simultaneously with the storm sewer project. Construction of the homes could begin in summer 2020.

 

"I believe we have all the approvals in place," he said. "It's a big project, and we're definitely excited about it."

 

The homes will all be single-family and fall in the price range of $600,000 to $900,000, he said. About two-thirds of the homes will be in Covington and one-third in Park Hills.

 

Joshua One is planning a preview event to introduce and market the complex and house plans this fall, Zeltwanger said.

 

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