BY EARNEST WINSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON -- Improving traffic flow on Ky. 18 will likely be a top priority of transportation consultants studying northeast Boone County.
Members of a planning committee hope a half-million dollar Major Investment Study, which will include the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport and parts of Florence, will give them a guide to improving roads and traffic flow as the area continues to develop.
One option for alleviating traffic on Ky. 18 is to make Zig Zag Road a connector street, going around the airport and connecting with Mineola Pike, said Shirley Meihaus, chair of the Northeast Boone County Transportation Study Planning Committee.
The study, expected to last six to nine months, will be funded by $400,000 from the state; $50,000 from the airport; $25,000 from Boone County Fiscal Court, $15,000 from Tri-ED and $10,000 from Florence.
"I'm just real enthused about this study," said Ms. Meihaus, who is a Boone County commissioner.
"Traffic is on the minds of most people in the county."
The planning committee, which met Wednesday at the Boone County Extension Center will meet again Aug. 19 to consider proposals from consultants for conducting the study.
"We expect quite a few responses," said Warner Moore of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI). The 1996 Boone County Transportation Plan, the Airport Master Plan and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Six-Year Plan were discussed at Wednesday's meeting in order to see existing plans. The study, undertaken at the request of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, is required in order to receive federal funds.
Improvements list
The results of the study will be a prioritized list of transportation improvements that will be given to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for input into its six-year plan and OKI's Long Range Transportation Plan.
The study area is bound by the Ohio River on the north, the Kenton County line and Interstate 71 - 75 on the east, Ky. 18 on the south and Ky. 237 on the west.
"We have to grow with the airport and they're growing mighty fast," said Ms. Meihaus, also an OKI board member.
