SPI Insights

Ohio – After years of planning by their two states, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine jointly applied for nearly $2 billion in federal funding on May 24 to make improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor that runs through Northern Kentucky and the city of Cincinnati.

Kentucky and Ohio are seeking $1.66 billion in federal grant funding through the Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant. The grant request represents approximately 60 percent of the remaining $2.77 billion project cost. Each state will also allocate significant state and other federal dollars toward the project. The states will split the cost of the new bridge 50/50, and each state will be responsible for the needed work on its side of the border.

The project will reconstruct approximately 5 miles of Interstates 71 and 75 in Kentucky and 1 mile of I-75 in Ohio and will include construction of a new companion bridge over the Ohio River, just to the west of the existing Brent Spence Bridge. The project limits are from south of the Dixie Highway Interchange in Kentucky to Linn Street in Ohio with the interstate widened by one additional lane in each direction throughout the corridor.

This additional capacity will alleviate congestion, improve safety, and open this nationally significant freight corridor. Current plans also call for the separation of local and interstate traffic, which will improve access to local businesses and communities in Covington and Cincinnati.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently announced that engineering work on the project will move forward as the federal government considers the application. KYTC and ODOT also will continue to work on acquiring property needed to construct the project.

Earlier this month, state transportation authorities in Ohio and Kentucky released a request for letters of interest for design-build services for the design and construction of the corridor project.

ODOT officials followed that solicitation by requesting proposals from consultants to support contract administration, public outreach, project management, and control tasks necessary to manage the eventual design-build project. The selected consultant will be co-managed by a joint team within ODOT and KYTC.

The project team will provide opportunities in the coming weeks for all firms interested in this historic project to ask questions, provide input to the process, and meet with ODOT and KYTC personnel to learn more about the details.