$1.78 million Nicholas Street expansion OK’d

By MARTY FINLEY

mfinley@thenewsenterprise.com

ELIZABETHTOWN – Those who travel along Nicholas Street will have new access to U.S. 62 next year.

The Nicholas Street Bridge and Relocation Project drew 12 bids from interested companies, with Shepherdsville-based Jeff Robards Construction gaining the project with a low bid of $1,780,972.

The bridge construction was slated to cost $650,000, with the rest of the money used for road construction, said City Engineer Scott Reynolds in an earlier City Council meeting. The bridge itself is to be 175 feet in span.

The road will begin at the intersection of U.S. 62 and College Street Road. The bridge will cross Valley Creek and connect to the Nicholas Street extension. The road then will extend from the bridge to the Winding Springs subdivision.

The City Council on Monday also approved CSX Transportation just more than $198,000 to construct a new railroad crossing, and Kentucky Utilities was approved $55,000 to relocate primary electrical lines for the project.

Plans are to break ground in October, with construction lasting 300 days, putting the project’s finishing date around July 2009, Reynolds said.

Nicholas Street’s growth is attributed to developed subdivisions, leading the city to begin working on the conceptual ideas for the project roughly two-and-a-half years ago, Reynolds told The News-Enterprise in July. The extended road is expected to create a safer route from Nicholas Street to U.S. 62.

The city earmarked $2 million in the current budget to pay for the project, and $200,000 will be provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Reynolds said.

Marty Finley can be reached at (270) 505-1762.