Will be traveling from Columbus, Ohio tomorrow. Is the bridge fully open? I am thinking about just taking the detour of 275 to 471 to I-71 south. Thanks, (going to Dry Ridge KY)
Will be traveling from Columbus, Ohio tomorrow. Is the bridge fully open? I am thinking about just taking the detour of 275 to 471 to I-71 south. Thanks, (going to Dry Ridge KY)
* Attended the 1990 and 2010 Reds Division clinchers *
Go 76ers, Go Steelers and Go Bucks
From all news accounts, it is fully open.
Having said that, I often go the 471 way. It’s an additional 10-15 minutes travel time, but the Brent Spence transit is a bit of a white knuckler and often backed up. If I’m going up 71, I’ll go the 471 way. If I’m headed up 75, I take a deep breath and cross it. The northbound way is a little hairier than southbound.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
goreds2 (12-26-2020)
Being stuck bumper to bumper in the middle of that bridge is always fun because it gives you time to ponder things like structural integrity, weight limit, contracts awarded to the lowest bidder, did I live a full and rich life, etc.
"Lemonade requires a significant amount of sugar. Otherwise, you've just made lemon juice."
goreds2 (12-26-2020),KronoRed (12-26-2020),Redsfaithful (12-26-2020),Roy Tucker (12-26-2020),Wonderful Monds (12-26-2020),WrongVerb (12-26-2020)
Indeed. Bumper to bumper stopped traffic is without a doubt the most dangerous scenario on a bridge due to the huge dead load. I crossed the Brent Spence twice a week going to and from Lexington during grad school and basically said a prayer and held my breath every single time, especially after doing a little research and reading words like “functionally obsolete since 1985” and “carrying 150,000 cars per day after being designed for 85,000”.
Wikipedia says the Brent Spence is the nation’s second busiest bridge? Is that true? If so, even more shame on all the failed leadership for letting this go so long. This country’s unwillingness to invest in infrastructure borders on the criminal.
Side note - ever get stuck on a bridge and feel it “bounce” a little bit when a semi pulls up behind you? Apparently normal and most structures are made to bend/flex within reason, but it’s freaky the first few times you feel it.
Ohio, Kentucky want $2B from infrastructure act for bridge
Posting the entire article so you don’t have to give email information.
https://www.news-herald.com/2022/03/...ct-for-bridge/Ohio and Kentucky want the federal government to spend $2 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure deal to build a new Ohio River bridge and to fix an existing outdated span that has long been the source of frustration for commuters and politicians, their governors said Monday.
Overhauling the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Cincinnati with northern Kentucky, was a big selling point for President Joe Biden during the debate over the federal infrastructure legislation.
He touted the project in July at a CNN town hall in Cincinnati, vowing his administration would “fix that damn bridge of yours” if the legislation passed. Just before signing the bill last November, Biden said he expected that the bridge would finally get funding.
Governors from both states on Monday signed an agreement to work together to overhaul the bridge and to seek funding from the $1 trillion infrastructure package.
“This project is the poster child for the federal infrastructure act,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
The bridge in downtown Cincinnati has become a bottleneck on a heavily used freight route that connects the Midwest and the South. Its traffic woes have been a symbol of the nation’s growing infrastructure needs for decades.
The Federal Highway Administration declared the bridge functionally obsolete in the 1990s because its narrow lanes carry more cars than it was designed for — the 160,000 vehicles it now sees daily is double than what was intended.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the two states can make a strong case for getting funding for the project, which is estimated to cost $2.8 billion. The two states would share in picking up the rest of the tab, but pledged not to include tolls on motorists.
“We all understand the national significance of this bridge,” DeWine said.
Beshear, a Democrat, and DeWine, a Republican running for reelection this year, steered clear of politics while saying both states were ready to begin working on the overhaul. Beshear said he hopes they can break ground next year.
“I know its aggressive, but we’ve waited too long,” he said.
* Attended the 1990 and 2010 Reds Division clinchers *
Go 76ers, Go Steelers and Go Bucks
Exciting, been a long time since they built a new bridge.
Go Gators!
Chip R (03-02-2022)
Wow they might even get the new one built before the old one collapses!
"Lemonade requires a significant amount of sugar. Otherwise, you've just made lemon juice."
Chip R (03-03-2022)
Starting to sound like this might happen. At least a parallel bridge to the Brent Spence.
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/new...st/9915320002/
5. Plans call for a new bridge to run adjacent and just west of the existing Brent Spence, along with improvements to the existing bridge and the interstate network from the Western Hills Viaduct in Ohio to Dixie Highway in Kentucky. Cincinnati and Covington both get perks too. Among them: A new exit at Ezzard Charles Drive in Ohio and improvements between Dixie Highway and Kyles Lane in Kentucky.
Last edited by Roy Tucker; 05-30-2022 at 11:57 PM.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
1. The probable source of federal funding for BS bridge is a bridge program in the IIJA transportation act. The notice of funding will be announced in the next few weeks and successful grant awards will be annnounced 60-90 days after the grant applications are due. It will not take a year or more to find out if the project gets federal funding from a grant award.
2. Grant money is not a gift. The money for the program comes from federal gas tax revenues. So all Americans are paying for BS bridge, if it gets an award, which it should because it is a shining example of crumbling infrastructure.
3. The states of Ohio and Kentucky will receive the grant money but they will pay general contractors, who submit a winning project bid, to do the construction work. This is a huge project for these states. There will be high pressure to use the money effectively.
The article stated Fall 2023:
This should be a federal project. It's a major interstate connector. It's not a local issue. Huge amounts of interstate commerce cross that bridge“The project would be delayed for the foreseeable future until additional funding can be identified,” the grant application said. The states expect to know whether they’ll get the $1.66 billion by the fall of 2023.
One of the three programs obliquely, but not specifically mentioned in the article is called MEGA and that is the one BS is targeting. They will announce awards 60-90 days from the date the applications were due, May23. FHWA announced it. CE neglected to mention that fact.
But BS bridge won’t get $1,66 B out of that program. They will have to apply for the bridge grant I mentioned previously. That program is tailor made for the project and BS should get an award from that program.
it’s not a federal project. And “major interstate connector” is not a techinical road description. It’s a meaningless phrase you made up.
It is a key project because Ohio and Kentucky can’t manage their aging infrastructure, so they have to go begging to DC. And you will get what you begged for because of McConnell.
I’m just glad the project is moving forward in a meaningful way. It has been needed for decades and has been hung up in partisan squabbles.
Funding section on the project site:
https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/funding/
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
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