CINCINNATI — Construction crews are set to start work on a busy bridge along Interstate 75 in Cincinnati.
The Brent Spence Bridge carries traffic on both Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Kentucky.
Construction is set to begin later this year but there is no set design.
Governor Mike DeWine told our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati that he will leave it up to city leaders as they work with Kentucky.
“Whatever is occurring as far as the off-ramps and the other roads in Cincinnati, we defer to the people of Cincinnati,” DeWine said. “We defer to the mayor, we defer to the council, and the other business leaders of the community. So, we’re willing to work with them. What we don’t want to do is see the building of the bridge slowed up appreciably. We want to continue to move forward on that bridge.”
News Center 7 reported back in July that both DeWine and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that Kokosing and The Walsh Group will be at the helm of the Brent Spence Corridor Project
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Meeka Owens, Cincinnati City Council member, said it’s the council’s job to work on projects exactly like the corridor.
“We are decision-makers,” she added. “People have elected us to tackle the big things, and this is one of them.”
City council members have not said when they will have a final plan.
The contract announced in July addressed six of the corridor’s eight total miles, including five miles of I-71/75 in Kentucky and one mile of I-75 in Ohio.
It also includes improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge and the construction of a new companion bridge to its immediate west. Work on the two northernmost miles of the corridor in Ohio will be done under separate contracts.
The primary goals of the project include improving safety and traffic flow and maintaining connections to key regional and national transportation corridors.