New NKY Fourth Street Bridge will include 4 lanes, up from 3

The Licking River bridge between Covington and Newport will be expanded from three to four lanes.

Despite some community objections to the added lane, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on Wednesday announced that its new Fourth Street Bridge over the Licking River would have two lanes in each direction, along with separated bike-hike lanes on each side.

"This project represents our commitment to improving safety and connectivity for all Kentuckians," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a press release.

The new bridge, with $68 million in state funding, will feature a three-arch design that spans 446 feet across the Licking and rises 58 feet into the sky.

The bridge will replace the World War Veterans Memorial Bridge, built in 1936 and now considered obsolete. The current structure, also known as the KY 8 Bridge, includes two lanes from Covington to Newport and one lane in the opposite direction.

Pedestrians and bikers will be able to use the existing bridge while the new one is built, transportation department spokesman Jake Ryle said Wednesday. State officials do not yet know if vehicle traffic will have to be diverted to the 11th Street bridge, the only other Licking River crossing between the two cities, or other routes at any point during the project work, Ryle said.

The current bridge will be razed to make way for the new one. State officials did not announce a timeline, saying they expect to determine that in the first quarter of 2024.

Critics wanted to keep the Fourth Street Bridge at three lanes, fearing more would encourage speeding.

"More lanes is going to induce drivers to drive faster," leading opponent Matt Butler said Wednesday.

That will endanger pedestrians and bikers at either end of the bridge, who will also need to cross more lanes, said Butler, director of the Devou Good Foundation and leader of a coalition working against the four-lane option.

In unveiling their selection, state officials said four lanes are needed to support coming growth in Northern Kentucky. Among the projects that will bring more traffic, the state press release said, are Ovation, Margaritaville Resort, OneNKY Center and the Central Riverfront project.

At present, however, traffic on the Fourth Street Bridge is flat, Butler noted, citing state of Kentucky traffic studies.

His group is disappointed but undeterred, he said. "We're not going to give up. These are basically just renderings at this point."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What will NKY's new Fourth Street bridge look like?