News Item #1682

From Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6:

Lt. Gov. Coleman Joins State, Local and University Officials To Break Ground on New AA Highway (KY 9) Road Connection in Campbell County
Construction to begin on new 1.5 mile route improving access to NKU campus, surrounding neighborhoods

COVINGTON, Ky (Nov. 9, 2026) – Today, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined state transportation, local and Northern Kentucky University officials for a groundbreaking celebrating the construction of a new road off the AA Highway (KY 9), which will provide better connectivity in Campbell County.

“This project has been 24 years in the making, and we’re excited to finally move dirt to make this important connection a reality,” said Lt. Gov. Coleman, “The new route will provide a safe, convenient route in this growing region of Northern Kentucky that serves the nearby university campus and surrounding community.”

The new 1.5 mile road, to be designated KY 2405, will feature one lane in each direction and will connect into the existing roundabout at Johns Hill Road (KY 2345) and Norse Boulevard (KY 2405) to the north, and AA Highway to the south. Additionally, it will provide new intersections at Pooles Creek Road (KY 1998) and St. Johns Lane, as well as an eight-foot sidewalk along one side of the new connector road to provide safe access for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“This connection will make it easier for students, employees and visitors to reach NKU while strengthening the ties between our campus and the communities we serve,” said NKU President Dr. Cady Short-Thompson. “As we plan for NKU’s future, access and connectivity are essential. We’re grateful to our state and local partners for investing in infrastructure that supports our students and creates new opportunities for our university and region.”

The $9.9 million project, led by the Team Kentucky’s Transportation Cabinet, is the second and final phase of construction on this corridor. The initial phase of Norse Boulevard was completed in 2017 and featured roundabouts at Three Mile Road/University Drive and Johns Hill Road at Norse Boulevard.

“These improvements reflect Team Kentucky’s priority of giving travelers safe and convenient multi-modal options to get around,” said KYTC District 6 Chief Engineer Bob Yeager. “This Phase 2 project will complete the partially constructed road that extends south of the existing roundabout. Once complete, nearby campus employees, students and residents will have a new safe and direct route that ties to the heavily-used AA Highway.”

Pre-construction site clearing activities for the new road began in October 2026 with major construction expected to begin over the next month with the project wrapping up by Fall 2028.

This project expands on a $10.6 million Phase 1 project on Norse Boulevard completed in 2018 to construct the new road with one lane in each direction, add a center turn lane from Three Mile Road (KY 2238) to Johns Hill Road (KY 2345), build two roundabouts and add a sidewalk along the length of the corridor to improve pedestrian safety and connectivity.

Louisville Paving and Gresham Smith are the design build team executing the nearly $10 million project to design and construct the new road. The design build method helps advance the project more efficiently by encouraging early and continual collaboration among the designer and contractor who work as one team.

More information and future project updates will be available on the Driving NKY Progress  website.