Thursday, September 02, 1999
Clogged Ky. 16 defies easy fixes
Some in Taylor Mill don't like choices
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
TAYLOR MILL — Residents who got to look Wednesday at the Kentucky Department of Highways' four alternatives to improve Ky. 16 had different favorites, but said they're not looking forward to construction nightmares.
The alternatives for Ky. 16 — also known as Taylor Mill Road — range in cost from $33 million to $47 million. No construction date is set.
Maureen Maxfield of Robertson Road said Wednesday at a Scott High School meeting that a new road will change Taylor Mill's character forever.
“We're a residential community,” she said. “We're no longer going to be a community. We'll be a pathway from southern Kenton County at some point. We're going to be 3L Highway.”
Richard Guidi, district design engineer for the highway department's Northern Kentucky office, said right-of-way acquisition should begin by 2002, and expects the project to be addressed in the state's next six-year road plan.
According to a 1993 Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission study, daily traffic on Ky. 16 increased 83 percent between 1985 and 1992. A 1995 study of traffic flow rated the road a “D” on an A-to-F scale, with F representing gridlock.
The state's four alternatives are:
• A three-lane road that generally follows the existing Ky. 16. It includes a four-lane connector road from Ky. 16 to Ky. 17 south of Ky. 1501. A total of 65 homes and businesses would be razed. At $47 million, it is the most expensive.
Rich Tabeling likes that alternative because his home wouldn't be taken, but he doesn't want Taylor Mill to become a pathway from south ern Kenton County to Interstate 275.
“They're cramming all these houses in Independence,” Mr. Tabeling said. “They're looking for a straight shot to I-275. These roads do nothing for Taylor Mill.”
Terri Andrews, who lives on Old Taylor Mill Road and owns an accounting firm on Taylor Mill, said the state would be wasting money.
“By the time they got it done, it's going to be obsolete,” she said.
• A five-lane road following Ky. 16. Cost is $36 million, but the 89 houses that would be torn down represent the highest number of the four alternatives.
• A five-lane road from existing Ky. 16 west through open areas from Klette Road to near the Taylor Mill Swim Club and later parallel to Old Taylor Mill to I-275. The $33 million cost is the cheapest of the plans; the 45 homes taken is the fewest.
Ric Wood said that choice would save his home on Maple Ridge Drive, but he said strip malls and apartment buildings would result.
• A five-lane road following existing Ky. 16 and Old Taylor Mill to I-275. Cost is $39 million, and 67 structures would be taken.
Taylor Mill City Administrator Jill Cain said she expected City Council to endorse one of the alternatives at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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