Construction on the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor has begun, kicking off a $4.05 billion interstate reconstruction program focused on a new two-story cable-stayed bridge over the Ohio River and a multi-year overhaul of one of the nation’s busiest freight routes between Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster joined state transportation officials May 8 in a groundbreaking ceremony near the existing crossing, marking the transition from enabling work to major construction activity.
Federal transportation officials have long identified the I-71/I-75 interchange as one of the nation’s top trucking bottlenecks, with more than $1 billion in freight moving through the corridor daily, according to the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
“This new bridge addition will make our roads safer and our economy stronger, while demonstrating what’s possible when states and the federal government work together to solve our biggest challenges,” DeWine said during the ceremony.
Redesign of the anchor corridor of the accompanying bridge
The Walsh-Kokosing joint venture, selected in 2023 under a progressive design-build contract, will build approximately 6 miles of the 8-mile program, including 5 miles of I-71/I-75 in Kentucky and 1 mile of I-75 in Ohio. Separate contracts will cover the two miles further north.
The project focuses on a new two-story, cable-stayed companion bridge located just west of the existing Brent Spence Bridge, a steel truss structure built in 1963, originally designed to handle around 80,000 vehicles per day; Since then, traffic has more than doubled to 160,000 vehicles per day.
The project materials describe the new span as an independent deck bridge in which both traffic decks are directly supported by the cable system. The main river span will measure approximately 1,000 feet between piers, with supports located outside the existing bridge footprint to meet US Coast Guard navigation requirements.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new intelligent AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
The accompanying bridge will carry five lanes in each direction, along with two 14-foot shoulders on each deck. Under the redesigned traffic configuration, the upper deck will carry southbound I-71/I-75 traffic, while the lower deck will carry northbound traffic.
Once the companionway opens, the existing Brent Spence Bridge will be rehabilitated and narrowed from four to three lanes to serve local traffic. The redesign aims to reduce fabric conflicts that have contributed to chronic congestion and safety issues near the approaches to downtown Cincinnati and Covington.
AECOM is serving as lead designer for the program, while Jacobs is the independent accompanying bridge engineer and Parsons is the independent design quality firm, according to project materials.
The broader reconstruction package includes interchange reconfigurations, collector-distributor lanes, retaining walls, drainage improvements, intelligent transportation systems, noise walls and utility relocations that extend across the two state approaches.
RELATED
Walsh-Kokosing JV wins $3.1 million Ohio-Kentucky bridge contract
The phased construction aims at the mobility of goods
Project officials have described traffic maintenance as one of the program’s biggest operational challenges because the corridor cannot withstand prolonged closures without major disruptions to freight.
The traffic management plan is designed to maintain the use of at least two entrances and two exits in each direction throughout construction, and the first ramp closures are scheduled to begin May 20.
Extensive enabling work has been underway for months, including utility relocations, building demolitions and clean-up operations. Heavy construction is expected to accelerate in the coming weeks, with barge and crane activity on the Ohio River supporting foundation and piling work for the companion bridge.
Construction is expected to continue into the early 2030s, with the add-on bridge scheduled to open in 2031 and the wider corridor work substantially completed by 2033.
Project materials estimate that the work will require approximately 6 million man hours and support up to 1,000 workers at peak construction activity. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman said the project belongs to “contracting and consulting teams and more than 50 subcontractors who are ready to begin construction.”
RELATED
Cable-stayed design selected for Brent Spence Companion Bridge between Ohio and Kentucky
Federal grants recover the cost of the expanding project
The project represents one of the largest investments in the freight corridor supported by the Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) that are now moving into active construction.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the $4.05 billion figure represents an anticipated construction cost, while the total contract authority, including completed design, engineering and demolition activities, is approximately $4.39 billion.
The federal share includes $1.635 million in IIJA grants through the Federal Highway Administration. Ohio and Kentucky are splitting the costs of the companion bridge and rehabilitation of the existing span equally, while each state remains responsible for funding its own approach work.
“This project will be built without tolls and will make a big difference for both Ohio and Kentucky and the nation,” McConnell told local media at the opening ceremony.
Project costs have increased greatly in recent years. In April, ENR reported that the overall estimate rose to about $4.5 billion, up from an earlier projection of $3.6 billion, with state officials attributing much of the increase to increased highway construction costs. ODOT cited a 61 percent increase in highway construction costs between 2020 and 2025, according to the Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Construction Cost Index.
