The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project officially got underway May 8 with a groundbreaking event near the current bridge, though work has been going on for months on the Cincinnati side of the river. The new “companion” bridge is expected to be completed by 2031.
The new state-of-the-art cable-stayed companion bridge will carry I-71 and I-75, which transport more than $1 billion in freight daily across the Ohio River. The existing bridge will be redesigned to handle local traffic between Cincinnati and Covington.
The Brent Spence Bridge opened in 1963 and was designed to handle 80,000 vehicles per day. Extra lanes were added in each direction over the years to eventually carry 160,000 daily vehicles today.
The $4 billion project will also overhaul five miles of highway approach in Kentucky and one mile in Ohio, including more than 40 total overpasses or underpasses. Federal grants are funding $1.63 billion of the project, with remaining costs split between the two states.
Helping kick off construction May 8 were (pictured above, from left) Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Project Manager Stacee Hans, Covington Mayor Ron Washington, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster, and Kentucky Transportation Secretary Rebecca Goodman.