The Shadow
Dear Editor,
Is anyone else but me upset about the Columbia Gas construction work that has torn up about every street in Covington and damaged many small
businesses and other private property? Who’s running the show?!
On a number of occasions within the last few months my street, Maple Avenue, has been blocked so that any clients who wanted to reach my law office had to walk a long way to get there. I am slowly trying to reach a retirement point but I don’t need Columbia Gas and the City accelerating that timetable.
Who is looking out for the small businesses which have to absorb the shock of all of this disruption? No one has come to me to explain what is happening, how long it will take, or to get my thoughts about how it might be done better. It seems Columbia Gas is like a “bull in a China shop,” they just do whatever they want to do.
Several days ago, Columbia Gas had my alley blocked, both at Maple Avenue and Locust Street, so not only was my rear entrance blocked, but the
Granbery United Methodist Church parking lot was also blocked. I went out to discuss the matter with two Columbia Gas employees (who, by the way, were parked on my lot without permission) and tried to tell them how senseless it was to block the church and my law office when the work they were doing was at the far end of the alley, down near Lexington Avenue. They just laughed and said they were only doing what the “boss” told them to do. I told them it was no laughing matter, as far as I was concerned, went back to my office and called the City Managers Office to complain. Sadly, I heard nothing back from that office.
This recent disruption is bad enough, but it comes on top of the almost total disruption of Maple Avenue that virtually shut my office down for almost a
year. I will ask again: “Who is looking out for people and businesses impacted by all of this disruption? And, who will fix the mess?”
Bill Wilson
09-29-2026
