SOUTH POINT — For the past week the transportation side of economic development has been on the front burner as representatives from the KYOVA Interstate Planning Commission came to the county to hear about upcoming projects.

“To receive federal funds for highway projects, there is a planning process and to update those plans periodically, you are supposed to look at short, mid and long-term,” according to Ralph Kline, who is on the KYOVA board.

Right now the commission is in the planning stages and has been gathering data from public meetings. After that will come a series of public hearings to get input from the communities these projects will affect. Projects like the Ninth Street Redevelopment Project that could bring in a hotel to the area or the Ironton Riverfront Project.

“It needs to be taken in consideration for the transportation impact on what we are doing,” Kline said. “How does that affect transportation in the area? It goes beyond cars and highways. It goes to public transportation, bicycles and rail.”

After analyzing the transportation needs such projects will create, the commission will then go back to the drawing board to come up with specific traffic plans.

“Do we need signalization?,” Kline said. “Making sure you have proper access. How do you keep traffic flowing? Is it building interchanges, new road constructions, (traffic light) timing changes? Do we need additional rail spurs, water ports, airport improvements?”

These redevelopment concerns extend beyond the city limits and touch such projects as the intermodal transport facility at The Point in South Point or the continued retail expansion in the Burlington area.

“How all this impacts the interchanges,” Kline said. “It is a balance. You bring in jobs and you bring in other issues. You have to keep up with transportation. It is not building a building to have manufacturing jobs. You have to look at these things in a comprehensive way.”