Officials meet to discuss importance of Brent Spence Bridge project

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | Source: Soapbox

U.S. Congressman Steve Driehaus (D-OH) and James L. Oberstar (D-MN) were in Cincinnati on Monday, August 2 to discuss the Brent Spence Bridge replacement and rehabilitation project. The congressmen met with local officials on the 25th floor of the Enquirer Building in downtown Cincinnati overlooking the river span.

Driehaus and Oberstar were joined by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Ohio Department of Transportation director Jolene Molitoris, and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls who also serves as chair of the Livable Communities Committee and Major Transportation & Infrastructure Projects Sub-Committee. They gathered to discuss the project's economic and transportation impacts on the region.

Completed in 1964, the Brent Spence Bridge is currently exceeding its designed capacity and presents a variety of safety concerns that range from the bridge's lack of emergency break down lanes for motorists, to poor signage partially obstructed by the bridge's support structure.

In March 2010, Brian Cunningham from OKI Regional Council of Governments told Soapbox that the Brent Spence Bridge project is the metropolitan planning organization's number one priority because of the safety concerns and the major transportation choke point it presently causes.

"OKI has estimated that there is a crash along this 8-mile stretch once every three days, and when a crash occurs on that bridge it basically shuts down two interstates," Cunningham detailed.

The Ohio River crossing also represents a major economic linchpin for the region, and nation. It is presently estimated that $400 billion worth of commodities travel across the bridge every year; a number expected to more than double by 2030 to $815 billion.

Cunningham states that local officials have been very supportive of the project thus far, but that significant amounts of money are still needed to make the $2-3 billion project a reality. Local officials are hoping that a large portion of that money can come from the federal government with the help of representatives like Congressman Oberstar who serves as chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

According to Oberstar, the present federal transportation bill calls for significant increases for both Ohio and Kentucky's transportation projects. Due to a plan to jointly fund the project, Ohio and Kentucky's resource boost would mean a tangible boost for the project itself.

The Brent Spence Bridge replacement designs have also been narrowed to three final design options, and officials hope that if the necessary funding is secured that construction can begin on the new span by 2015.