FORT WRIGHT, Ky. — The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project once seemed to be perpetually in limbo, but now that funding has been approved, plans are finally moving forward to expand and add a companion bridge.
One hold-up for a long time was the footprint the project would have, forcing businesses and homes to get out of the way. That footprint has been significantly reduced, but one northern Kentucky family is still being asked to move out of their home and is expressing their frustration.
Ned Kalapasev loves to wrestle with his 12-year-old son Milosh in their living room, but he has to be careful. Milosh has a rare condition called Barth Syndrome, and is extremely medically fragile. The condition is characterized by an enlarged and weakened heart, weakness in muscles used for movement and recurrent infections due to small numbers of white blood cells and short stature, according to Medline Plus.
Kalapasev said only about 250 people in the world have it.
“He’s had two heart transplants as a result of this. Numerous procedures. I couldn’t tell you how many blood draws and how many catheter procedures and biopsies and things like that,” Kalapasev said.
Their son’s health is one of the main reasons Kalapasev and his wife Brie love their house in Fort Wright.
They’ve converted their basement into an apartment that suits all Milosh’s needs. He’s able to get in and out without having to climb stairs. He uses a wheelchair when tired. The plan was for him to move down there when he got older, so that he could maintain some independence while still having his support system nearby.
The house is also close to their hospital, school and work. Kalapasev and his wife have lived in the house for 16 years, but it’s been in her family for 50 years. Her grandfather bought it in the late 1960s.
“It’s stayed in the family because it’s a pretty cool house on the end of the street. Very unique, you know, private. Close to everything, but yet, once you’re here, look around. It’s all green, and you’re kind of in the middle of nowhere,” Kalapasev said. “The whole place really works super well for us.”
Kalapsev is originally from Serbia, formerly Yugoslavia. He’s been in the United States for 30 years, and said he’s had to work hard for everything he has. His house serves as a gathering spot for the rest of the family.
“We never planned on leaving, really. Once we moved here, we were like high fiving each other, like we’re set,” he said.
But soon, and Kalapasev doesn’t know exactly how soon, the property will be owned by the state of Kentucky, and the family will be forced to move out. “We got a certified letter saying our property is going to be taken through eminent domain,” Kalapasev said. That was about two months ago.
Kalapasev said he had been aware of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Improvement Project in the past, and had even been told it could affect his house in the future. He said he was first contacted close to when his son was born.
“I had an idea this might be happening in the future to our house. And then they said, ‘ah well, the funding’s not there.’ We don’t know,” he said.
As progress on the project stalled for many years, Kalapasev put any worries he may have had aside. Now that the project has funding and is moving forward, Kalapasev’s is one of several homes and businesses that will need to make way. “It’s devastation. It’s terrible. It really is. Nobody likes to move. When you’re forced to move, it’s even worse,” he said. “We are just stressed to the max as it is. It’s just an additional layer of stress that we don’t want or need.”
The project aims to reduce the stress put on the Brent Spence Bridge, which carries more traffic every day than it was originally designed to, and is a key corridor for the entire country.
According to the project website: “Ohio and Kentucky are working together to aggressively pursue future funding opportunities that will support construction of a new bridge, as well as improvements to the existing Brent Spence Bridge and eight-mile corridor. A new bridge is vital to improving this national freight corridor, ranked by the American Transportation Research Institute as second in the nation in their 2022 Top Truck Bottlenecks List.
“The new companion bridge to the Brent Spence Bridge will provide an additional river crossing to the west of the existing structure.
“In addition to reducing congestion, improving safety, and increasing access to the central business districts and local communities throughout the corridor, current plans call for the separation of local and through traffic. Local traffic will use the existing Brent Spence Bridge; through traffic will use the new companion bridge.”
The city of Covington opposed initial plans for the project.
Originally, the footprint was much larger, but after negotiations with the city of Covington, business relocations were reduced from 18 to 11, and residential relocations reduced from 118 to 4.
The Kalapasev family is the only one of those four south of 12th Street in Covington.
“We’re pretty far from the bridge, if you think about it,” Kalapasev said. “I understand that this is for the greater good. I’m not saying you can not build the highway or expand the highway. I just don’t want to get displaced and get screwed over.”
KYTC has divided property discussions into two categories, those being properties north of 12th Street, and properties south of 12th Street. The reason for this delineation, according to KYTC, is related to the timing of the approval of the environmental document.
“As of now, we expect a total of four residential relocations, a significant reduction from 118,” said Naitore Djigbenou, Executive Director of the Office of Public Affairs for KYTC. “Activity in 2022 will primarily focus on properties south of 12th Street. There are 39 impacted properties in this section, of which one is a residential relocation. The interstate is being widened, and we were unable to avoid their home given the proximity to the interstate. There are no business relocations in this section. The majority of the impacts are where KYTC needs a partial piece of property, i.e., where KYTC will be seeking access to a portion of a given piece of property. All impacted property owners within this section of the project have been contacted via certified letter.”
Once the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) re-evaluation process is complete, KYTC expects activity to begin in earnest in 2023 for properties north of 12th Street.
“This portion of the project continues to be refined, and the list of properties is still considered preliminary, per NEPA guidelines and policies. We are still reviewing potential impacts in this environmentally sensitive area,” Djigbenou said. “Property owners will be contacted before beginning the acquisition process. The project team stays committed to reducing impacts as much as possible as work continues. It is also important to recognize that the info shared with Mayor Meyer was a tentative snapshot at that point in time. For example, the 11 business relocations in Covington is now down to 6 as we continue to finalize details north of 12th Street. Of those 6 business impacts, 2 are billboards and one is a radio tower.”
Kalapasev said he thinks it’s been a one-sided process with a lack of transparency. “Honestly I haven’t seen the plans. I’ve asked for plans several times and I just haven’t seen them yet from anybody,” he said.
He said the state has already appraised his home, and now he’s just waiting for what he hopes will be a fair deal. He doesn’t anticipate being able to buy a home close to the same quality as the one he lives in now, especially in the current market.
The family is hoping it can spend one more Christmas there.
Construction on the project is expected to start by the end of 2023 and be completed by 2029.