Near the Ohio River in north central Kentucky, Erlanger is a growing city in Boone County that is home to a variety of businesses including an airport, Amazon warehouses, a candy plant, and more. To make it easier for traffic to get around in the area, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and general contractor Riegler Blacktop are in the midst of a project on the Donaldson Highway, a road that leads to many destinations in Erlanger.
Donaldson Highway is an important thoroughfare in the area, with a growing average daily traffic (ADT). The existing ADT is 13,200, and it is expected to reach 19,600 in 2040. Trucks account for 11 percent of the traffic.
The highway runs past the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). According to a CVG press release, the airport saw 9.2 million passengers in 2024, a 5.4 percent increase from the previous year and the most in 15 years. The vast majority — 8.8 million — were local passengers.
Traffic in and around the airport is partially driven by Amazon, which uses CVG as an air hub. The usage is about to grow as the company is planning a $1.5 billion expansion. Because it serves as a hub, Amazon has multiple warehouses in the area with more planned.
The state performed an airport circulation study, which recommended that the Donaldson Highway be widened and improved.
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"Amazon drove the process, but the airport is the driver of this project," said Kevin Rust, a Project Team Leader with Lochner. The consulting engineering firm oversees the project and performs inspection work for KYTC.
Among the factories in the industrial area around the project is an Airheads candy plant that produces 6.5 million pieces of candy daily, according to Airheads manufacturer, Perfetti Van Melle.
There is also a large Catholic high school and church, as well as an event center that hosts wedding receptions.
More growth is projected in the area due to a planned mixed-use development facility. The added traffic would have had a dramatic impact on congestion.
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Currently, the 2-mile stretch of the Donaldson Highway project is one lane in each direction, which causes regular congestion and some safety issues.
The lack of turn lanes at the intersections often leads to traffic backups, and rear end crashes are not uncommon. Also, due to the lack of capacity and turn lanes, there have been crashes where vehicles were trying to turn left and have been hit by oncoming traffic. In addition, pedestrians have limited access.
Upon completion of the project, the highway will be widened and include five lanes — including a center turn lane — with curb and gutter.
Around the main intersections, there will be separate left and right turn lanes, bringing the total of lanes to six. One bustling intersection will have seven lanes, two in each direction, a center turn lane, and a right and left turn lane.
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There will be a standard 6-foot sidewalk on one side of the road and a 10-foot-wide shared-use path for bikes and pedestrians on the other side. Previously, there was very little sidewalk on the project and no pedestrian access from one end of the job to the other.
The project involves the width of Donaldson Highway changing from 25 to 100 feet. The massive widening required KYTC to secure an area along the road.
"KYTC purchased lots of right of way — over 100 parcels of land," Rust said. "However, few relocations were necessary since the project area is situated in a built environment."
He noted that relocations are a major cost and delay to getting a project started.
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According to Rust, utility relocation has proven to be a challenge for the project. The area has four separate water lines. Two are owned by the Northern Kentucky Water District, one owned by the Boone County Water District, and the final one is owned by and serves the airport.
The project is impacting each of them, and all of them had to be partially relocated.
In addition to the water lines, there is a gas line, fiber optics, sanitary sewer, and electric duct banks. The construction team is responsible for handling the water, gas, sanitary sewer, and electric duct bank.
However, the fiber electric line is not part of the contract, as the owner elected to handle that internally. The electric company placed their lines in the duct bank constructed by the construction team.
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"The installation of the electric duct banks required significant coordination," Rust said. "We had biweekly meetings that included KYTC, Lochner, utility owners, and the utility owners' contractors."
After the team installed the banks, some utilities had to be shifted to allow connection of the other utilities, including fiber optic lines.
"There were so many service lines in the area that it was a challenge getting them all in," Rust said. "Some of the service lines had to be placed across the road due to a lack of space."
While the project was underway, a significant change was initiated due to a variation found in some of the soil conditions. Glacial tills in northern Kentucky affect the soils, and the base layer has to be improved.
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Typically, with a project in a built environment, KYTC uses hydrated lime to stabilize the soil and road foundations. The team utilized the following approach for stabilization on the north side of the project area.
"The materials and equipment needed for the lime stabilization take up lots of room," Rust said. "This was not an issue originally, as we had room. But once we switched traffic over to the newly built section of traffic, there wasn't enough room for the equipment. ... Because of the insufficient space, we switched to cement stabilization, which requires a smaller footprint."
Riegler Blacktop, which has been around since 1954, is a local paving contractor that has partnered with KYTC multiple times over the years. Rust worked with KYTC for a couple of decades before joining Lochner, and he worked with Riegler years ago.
"They used to just do paving but are now bidding bigger work," Rust said. "This is one of the larger jobs they've had serving as the prime contractor."
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The company has shown they are up to the challenge. Rust said he has been impressed with the way Riegler has handled the project.
"They're on top of things," Rust said. "They look ahead, communicate well, and have helped us get the public advance notice about upcoming work."
He also noted that the company has been vigilant about keeping workers and the motoring public safe.
"The project superintendent has been focused, involved daily, and a good communicator," Rust said. "It seems they've applied lessons learned from past projects."
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Construction began in February 2023 and was scheduled for completion in September 2025. However, days were added due to a change order related to the waterlines and other utilities.
Northern Kentucky Water District upgraded some of their Standard Specifications during the project. They now require special gaskets on the water line as added protection from gas infiltration due to a nearby gas station.
Despite some of the changes, the contractor is confident they will meet the original completion date.
"Riegler has been aggressive and done a good job of coordinating efforts and keeping the project on track," Rust said.
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Riegler also suggested a change to the phasing. One project element around an intersection was originally scheduled to be five phases and take three to four months. However, Riegler requested a two-week closure of the intersection. The state granted the request, and it led to saving time and money.
"The closure got the project back on track after the utility conflicts," Rust said.
Innovative use of equipment also helped keep the project on schedule. A subcontractor used a slinger on a backfill for two retaining walls.
"The remote-controlled device placed the material very specifically," Rust said. "Placement would have been challenging if it were backfilled traditionally."
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The contractor has also worked through both winters, when construction often shuts down in the area. During the winter, Riegler relocated utilities.
The $33.2 million project is being funded by the federal and state governments via the standard 80/20 split.
The change order related to the waterlines and utility delays added over $400,000 to the budget. However, the final price tag remains within the contingency.
- Owner: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
- General Contractor: Riegler Blacktop, Florence, Kentucky
- Designer: Lochner, Lexington, Kentucky
- Other Contractors/Consultants: Lonkard Construction, Florence, Kentucky; Spartan Construction, Burlington, Kentucky; ConnHurst, Louisville, Kentucky; Central Seal, Danville, Kentucky; Bansal, Fairfield, Ohio; Andersen Contracting, Hebron, Kentucky
