Road crews were finishing up the emergency repair of Wayman Branch Road in South Covington on Wednesday with the road expected to re-open by the end of the work day.
Covington’s Public Works Department shut down the road Monday and its crews worked around the rain over the last three days to repair a damaged section just east of Rockwood Drive.
“We may be back Thursday for finishing touches but the road will be open to traffic even if we have to temporarily reduce it to one lane,” Public Works Director Rick Davis said.
Wayman Branch Road links Ky. 16 and Ky. 17 south of Pioneer Park.
Water draining down the hill from the north had undercut the road bed, creating a deep crack along the center line and causing one lane to drop about 6 inches lower than the other. About 90 feet of road was damaged.
Covington patched the crack and raised the roadbed for the time being, with the possibility of a more permanent fix later, Davis said.
Erosion has been a persistent problem along Wayman Branch because of run-off and because Wayman Branch Creek, which runs along the narrow road, is prone to jump its banks after heavy rain.
Rain delays Latonia Avenue reconstruction
The long-awaited reconstruction of Latonia Avenue will be delayed by the recent rain.
The contractor for the project, Riegler Blacktop, notified the City this week that complications from the wet weather will push back the anticipated start date of the project about two weeks – from the week of April 30 to the second week of May.
That new date also is dependent on the weather.
“Unfortunately, Mother Nature sometimes interferes with even high-priority projects,” Davis said.
Once work begins, however, the project will kick into high gear pretty quickly, officials said.
The $631,000 project is the second phase of the complete rebuild of Latonia Avenue, a heavily traveled connector between Madison Pike and Winston Avenue through West Latonia. This phase focuses on the section from West Southern Avenue to a point south of West 35th Street.
When finished, the project will feature not only a total curb-to-curb reconstruction but also new water lines (already installed) and a separation of the problematic combined-sewer system. The existing sewer line will be used only for sanitary sewage, and a new network for storm water will be installed.
City of Covington
