EDGEWOOD — The first phase of the much-discussed $26 million reconstruction of Turkeyfoot Road should begin by spring, after bids are awarded next month, a Kentucky highway official said.

        The project is designed to improve traffic flow on the heavily traveled route that serves subdivisions in Edgewood, Erlanger and Elsmere and connects with routes serving residential developments in Florence, parts of eastern Boone County, and Independence.

        While the project's design was approved in 1992, it has taken years to resolve environmental issues and garner the necessary support for a five-lane road, said Kevin Rust, a district design engineer.

        “Some people view a five-lane road as a major intrusion,” Mr. Rust said. “It changes the landscape tremendously.”

        Mr. Rust said highway officials hope to let bids for the first phase of construction on Oct. 26.

        “Depending on the contractor, construction could possibly start this winter. If not, work should start by next spring,” he said.

        The project involves converting much of Turkeyfoot Road from one lane each direction to two lanes each way, Mr. Rust said. Turn lanes also would be added at all of the intersections, and many curves and dips will be removed from the narrow, winding road.

        One of those turn lanes would be in front of Turkey Foot Middle School, and the district's traffic department soon will decide whether to install a traffic light there,

        Mr. Rust said.

        When construction begins, Mr. Rust said Turkeyfoot Road commuters will experience some minor inconveniences and delays, especially during morning and evening rush hours. However, crews will keep two lanes of traffic open throughout the reconstruction, he said.

        “I think the local governments are all behind it without question,” said Edgewood City Administrator Roger Rolfes. “It'll be some short-term pain for long-term gain.”

        Mr. Rolfes said many drivers use Turkeyfoot Road to get to Edgewood.

        “There are really not that many ways to get here,” he said.

        Work on the 3.8 mile section of Turkeyfoot Road will be done in three phases, with the first two phases — a 0.7 mile section from Linden Woods Drive to Autumn Road and a 1.35 mile section from Linden Woods Drive to Dudley Road — scheduled for completion in November 2003, Mr. Rust said.

        While the first two phases could be awarded to different contractors, “it will seem like one big project to commuters,” because work on each phase should start about the same time, Mr. Rust said.

        For the final phase, crews will widen a 1.75 mile stretch of Turkeyfoot Road between Autumn Road and Richardson Road. That work is tentatively scheduled to start in 2005, Mr. Rust said. Although design, right-of-way and utilities are funded for that phase, construction is not yet funded, because the project falls outside Kentucky's six-year road plan.

        However, because the project is 80 percent federally funded, with only 20 percent coming from the state, Mr. Rust said there shouldn't be a problem getting construction money for the final phase.

        “Generally, when you hear about road projects being delayed, they're usually not federal projects,” he said.

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