Design unveiled for new bridge connecting Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Officials unveiled a cable-stayed, dual-deck design for the Brent Spence companion bridge.
- The bridge, funded by a $1.6B federal grant, advances to final engineering phases.
- Project modernizes freight corridor carrying $400B in goods and 160K vehicles daily.
Officials have released a state-of-the-art design for a new bridge that will connect Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky.
The bridge, part of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, will be built next to the heavily trafficked bridge by the same name and serve as its companion.
The design, a cable-stayed independent deck bridge, is similar to the design of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge in Louisville. Both decks of the bridge will be supported by a cabling system, and there will be no steel connecting the two decks.
The design reveal for the bridge, just west of the Brent Spence Bridge and running from Cincinnati to Covington, is a major milestone in the project’s timeline, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release.
“The new companion bridge will be a game-changer for commuting families, and it’ll revolutionize a crucial economic corridor,” Beshear said. “This is a project that has been dreamed of for years and that many said would never happen. But we are getting it done by working together — and we’re doing it without tolls.”
The Federal Highway Administration agreed with the companion design, creating the pathway for the design team to advance the project to the final engineering and construction phases.
Beshear has previously said it would take “years upon years” to complete the project.
The project is being federally funded by a bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In December 2022. The project was awarded $1.6 billion, with most of the money going toward building the companion bridge.
The design team, made up of officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, considered other options for the companion bridge, but the cabling system was more cost-effective and easier to build. The team also considered key visual and aesthetic criteria, hoping the new companion bridge becomes a recognizable regional landmark.
Travelers heading northbound on the companion bridge will use the top level, giving them an unobstructed view of the Cincinnati skyline and the bridge’s design, according to the news release.
“This companion bridge reflects the values of the communities it connects — practical, forward-looking and built to last,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said in the news release. “With the bridge design selected, our expert teams continue to work hard behind the scenes on activities to help us march toward construction.”
The Brent Spence Bridge was built in 1963. It was originally constructed to carry around 80,000 vehicles a day, but the daily Interstate 75 and Interstate 71 traffic load has reached 160,000 vehicles in recent years.
Because I-75 is a key freight corridor stretching from Canada to Florida, the slowdowns also affect commerce throughout the eastern United States. A previous news release from the federal transportation department said the bridge is the second-worst truck bottleneck in the country. It carries more than $400 billion in freight per year over the Ohio River.
The project also includes improvements to the existing Brent Spence Bridge, redesigned ramp configurations throughout the 8-mile corridor, a new storm sewer system to reduce flooding and improve local roads, and enhanced pedestrian and bicycle paths in the area of the existing and new bridge.
