WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced Jan. 4 that a project between Kentucky and Ohio to rehabilitate and reconfigure the existing Brent Spence Bridge will receive $1.385 billion in the first round of Large Bridge Grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s (BIL) competitive Bridge Investment Program.
The grant to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will fund improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge, which is currently the second worst truck bottleneck in the nation and carries more than $380B in freight per year over the Ohio River.
The project will separate I-75 traffic from local traffic, making commutes between Kentucky and Ohio quicker and improving freight passage along this critical corridor.
In addition to addressing congestion and safety issues for communities in Kentucky and Ohio, improvements to this bridge will address delays in the movement of freight that currently raise costs for American families.
This grant is part of historic investments made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will help repair or rebuild ten of the most economically significant bridges in the country along with thousands of bridges across the country.
“These first Large Bridge grants will improve bridges that serve as vital connections for millions of Americans to jobs, education, health care and medical care and help move goods from our farms and factories,” said Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg.
“We are pleased to partner with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and see work get underway to modernize the Brent Spence Bridge, which will have a real impact on the quality of life for thousands of residents and motorists traveling between Covington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, who will benefit from these improvements for decades to come,” said FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt.