Ohio, Kentucky take a second bite at the federal funding apple for Brent Spence Bridge

August 15, 2022

Land Line Staff

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Ohio Gov.Mike DeWine and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the two states jointly submitted a second federal funding application for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project.

The funding would support bridge and roadway improvements along the 8-mile Brent Spence Bridge Corridor from the Western Hills Viaduct in Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky.

The new funding request was made to the Bridge Investment Program and is in addition to the still-pending May 2022 funding request made to the Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant Program. Ohio and Kentucky state in both applications that a total of $1.66 billion in federal grant funding is needed regardless of which discretionary grant program awards funds to the project.

The states are applying to multiple bipartisan infrastructure law grant programs to give themselves the best chance of receiving maximum funding, a strategy that is in line with the pledges of Governors DeWine and Beshear to pursue every federal dollar available for this bridge project.

“Now, more than ever, our national economy depends on the efficient movement of people, goods, and services on our federal interstate system,” DeWine said. “The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project is long overdue, and our residents deserve to have these highway infrastructure upgrades become a reality. Ohio and Kentucky continue to work closely with our federal partners to secure the funding we need to invest in our future through the transformation of this critical corridor.”

The project calls for the construction of a companion bridge to the west of the existing structure, as well as improvements to the current bridge and the roadway network that ties into each river crossing. Ohio and Kentucky will share the cost of the new bridge equally, and each state will be responsible for the needed. LL

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