Mediaboss Marketing

'I want to be able to break ground next year,' Beshear says on Brent Spence Bridge project

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced plans to apply for two federal grants totaling up to $2 billion to fund a new bridge.

Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON, Ky. The Brent Spence Bridge between Ohio and Kentucky could finally be getting its companion bridge and it won't require new tolls.

At a news conference Monday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced plans to apply for two federal grants totaling up to $2 billion to fund a new bridge to carry Interstates 71 and 75 over the Ohio River.

"I want to be able to break ground next year,'' said Beshear, a Democrat, during the news conference.

Brent Spence Bridge: Timeline of trying to fund the $2.5 billion project

The application for funding is expected to be submitted within the next few months and a final decision on the funding could happen in the fall of 2023, officials said.

The total cost of the new bridge would be about $2.8 billion, according to DeWine, a Republican. Kentucky and Ohio will contribute whatever funds aren't covered by the federal government.

Both states will apply for the grants together once the U.S. Department of Transportation releases guidance on the application process. Governors DeWine and Beshear said it's unclear exactly when that may be.

Transportation officials estimated construction of the companion bridge and improvements to the Brent Spence would take about five years to complete.

Beshear and DeWine said the new bridge would be built without tolls.

In the 1990s, the Federal Highway Administration declaredthe Brent Spence functionally obsolete because its narrow lanes carried more cars than it was designed for with no emergency lane.

The Brent Spence was built in 1963 to handle 80,000 vehicles a day, but is now used by double that number.

Improvements to the existing bridge and building a new companion bridge would add much-needed capacity by separating local and through traffic to ease the ongoing traffic backups and accidents.

"We believe that there is no bridge in this country that is as necessary and in needing of a change,'' DeWine said. Interstate 75 is a key freight corridor reaching from Canada to Florida, so officials said slowdowns affect commerce throughout the eastern United States.

A semi-truckhauling potassium hydroxidecrashed into ajackknifed truckon the Brent Spence in November 2020, causing a fire that shut down the bridge for weeks.

And in 2021, the bridge was ranked as the nation's second-worst for traffic bottlenecks.

For years, everyone agreed a new bridge was needed. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump were unableto secure funding for the project.

The infrastructure bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law in November, provided new hope for funding the bridge. The bill provides multiple grant opportunities that the bridge project would qualify for, including at least $39 billion specifically for bridges.

One of these grant programs is the Bridge Investment Act, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman of Ohio.This act provides $12.5 billionin grant funding to repair or replace outdated bridges. In a press release, Brown said he wrote the Bridge Investment Act with the Brent Spence in mind. Portman was one of the main Republicans who helped negotiate and pass the infrastructure bill.

In Kentucky, Sen. MinorityLeader Mitch McConnell voted for the bill, and Sen. Rand Paul voted against it. Both senators are Republicans

The bill passed the House on a largely party-line vote; all the Greater Cincinnati Republicans including Southwest Ohio's Reps. Steve Chabot, Brad Wenstrup, Warren Davidson and Northern Kentucky's Thomas Massie voted against it.

Northern Kentucky reporter Rachel Berry can be reached at rberry@enquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter @racheldberry.

Read the original post:
New Ohio River bridge next to Brent Spence won't require tolls, governors of Ohio and Kentucky say - The Cincinnati Enquirer