A design has been selected for a new bridge that will connect Cincinnati and northern Kentucky on the Ohio river. Substantial construction is expected to begin by 2026 in the project, it is currently estimated to cost $ 3.6 billion.
The new bridge, a bridge accompanying to the Brent Spence bridge, will be located west of the existing cantilevered traffic bridge and will be a cable structure. Like the existing bridge, it will have two covers.
The joint company Walsh Kokosing is the progressive contractor of the Brent Spence Bridge’s overall design design team, which will cover five kilometers of Interstate in Kentucky, the new companion bridge and a mile of intersters in Ohio.
Aecom is the main designer, Jacobs is the main engineer and Parsons is the design quality company. The project is managed by a team formed by the Ohio (OLD) transport department and the Kentucky transport cabinet.
“As we went through the designs, we wanted that [companion] Bridge to be profitable, functional and safe, but we also wanted to look good, “said Ohio governor Mike Dewine in a statement.
“The design we chose was the only one that did not increase the cost and the time line to build,” adds Odot’s spokesman Matt Bruning. “It will be larger and will manage the traffic on the roads.”
The new bridge will help relieve the existing congestion.
Rendering courtesy of Ohio Dot/Kentucky transport cabinet
The cable stays design was selected from three designs considered to include a tied bow design and a cable -level bridge with a cable level with steel traffic.
It is estimated that the project will need six million hours worked for about 700 traders. The WalSH-Kokosing website lists bidding opportunities for the project.
The new bridge will have four lanes on each roof for the traffic of the interstate 71 and 75. The existing bridge that opened in 1963 will be reconfigured to add a shoulder that had previously been eliminated.
“In the 1980’s, the capacity was needed, so that their shoulders were removed and the bridge was four lanes in each direction,” says Bruning. “The reconfigured bridge will have three lanes and a shoulder, so there is a place to pull up and out of active traffic.”
The existing bridge was designed for 80,000 vehicles a day, but now manages 160,000 a day.
Other elements of the project include improvements to eight kilometers of road in Ohio and Kentucky, including the redesign of ramp configurations, new pedestrian paths and bicycles to connect communities and improve access to stops and traffic work.
The bridge has been in the works for about 20 years and has experienced several laps and turns, including in 2016 when Kentucky passed a law banning tolls on interstate bridges that connect Ohio and Kentucky. The new bridge will not have tolls.
The last turn occurred on June 19 when a lawsuit was filed in the southern district of Ohio by Covington, Ky. Lawyer Jamis Davis against Wal-Kokosing, Odot and others claiming that Walkosing renounced a agreement To hire it to supervise the hiring of small minority and female property companies, the disadvantaged program Business Enterprise (DBE).
Another litigation The hope of resolution was presented in October 2024, also in the southern district of Ohio, by the proponents of public traffic that states this The impacts on health and the environment were overlooked when the federal road administration
He issued a significant impact (Fonsi) impact instead of preparing a complete environmental impact statement.
The bridge is expected to open in 2032. Bruning assures that the cost of the project will be reviewed in the fall and can be readjusted.
