Donaldson Highway (KY 236), Mineola Pike (KY 3076) and Turfway Road (KY 717) Reconstruction

The $1.5 billion expansion of Amazon’s air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG), combined with Boone County’s projected population growth, placed significant demands on local infrastructure. As part of Boone County’s transportation plan, KY 236 (Donaldson Highway) and KY 3076 (Mineola Pike) were widened and reconstructed to serve as the primary freight access to Amazon’s air hub. Lochner provided full-service project development and construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services.

The design team established Donaldson Highway as the direct entrance to the air hub with a grade-separated intersection at Mineola Pike. This configuration improved traffic flow and reduced delays for both freight and employees traveling to and from I-275 and I-71/75.

The $43.7 million improvements reconstructed Donaldson Highway and Mineola Pike into a five-lane roadway with a two-way center turn lane. To enhance multimodal connectivity, Lochner collaborated with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to design multi-use trails along Donaldson Highway, Mineola Pike, Turfway Road, and Aero Parkway, which will ultimately connect to the CVG Loop Trail. Additional project innovations included utility conflict avoidance through subsurface utility engineering (SUE) and Kentucky’s largest cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) installation, which rehabilitated a major storm drain without disrupting traffic.