Congested Northern Ky. bridge project to get $1.6 billion in federal grant
Help is coming for a notoriously problematic Ohio River bridge, which carries about $1 billion in freight across the Kentucky-Ohio border each day.
The offices of Gov. Andy Beshear and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, announced that Northern Kentucky’s Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project was awarded $1.6 billion
“We can now tell the people of this country that this project is happening. What a big grant. What a big day,” Beshear said at a press conference on Thursday.
Much of the money will go toward funding a new companion bridge alongside the existing Brent Spence Bridge just to the west of it. Funds will also be allocated to improve the existing bridge.
When asked about the timeline for the project, Beshear said that it would take “years upon years.”
“I’m thrilled the time has finally come for us to get the companion bridge built. Funding and constructing the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project is more than the fulfillment of my administration’s promise – it’s a dream fulfilled for the thousands of travelers who pass through the bustling region every day waiting eagerly for traffic relief to come on this nationally significant corridor,” Beshear said in a press release.
Beshear said at the press conference he believed the $1.6 billion in funding announced made it the “largest infrastructure grant in US history.”
The funding comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). McConnell was the primary Republican supporter of the bill in Washington, and has frequently highlighted the bridge as a key beneficiary of the legislation.
“For decades, inadequate capacity on the aging Brent Spence Bridge has created headaches for drivers traveling between Kentucky and Ohio. Today, we’re taking a major step toward fixing the problem,” McConnell said in a release. “Using my role as Senate Republican Leader, I stood with Sen. Rob Portman to break through gridlock and pass last year’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, delivering record funding for landmark infrastructure projects including today’s grant. Building a new companion bridge on the Brent Spence Bridge corridor will be one of the bill’s crowning accomplishments, bringing long-awaited safety improvements, traffic relief and rejuvenated commerce to Northern Kentucky and Southwestern Ohio.”
The release from McConnell’s team added that he contacted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to advocate directly for the project’s funding.
The Brent Spence Bridge was constructed in the 1960s to carry around 80,000 vehicles a day, but now the daily traffic load on Interstate Highways 75 and 71 has reached 160,000 vehicles, according to a release from Beshear’s office. Portions of Northern Kentucky near the bridge will get a new storm sewer system to reduce flooding and improve local roads, as well as enhanced pedestrian and bicycle facilities in the area of the existing and new bridge, according to the release.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 1:22 PM.
