Construction Set For New Ohio River Crossing

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring on a new bridge over the Ohio River between Kentucky and Ohio in the Cincinnati area.

Groundbreaking for the Brent Spence Companion Bridge will be this spring, according to a news release from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office March 16.

“I’m proud to announce a major milestone,” Beshear said in the release. “The work is set to begin on the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, which will deliver safer travel for our families, create good-paying construction jobs, boost national commerce and ease congestion for those commuting between Ohio and Kentucky. From securing federal and state funding to ensuring project plans are moving forward, my administration has worked hard to deliver on this promise, and now we are months away from beginning the meaningful work that will get this job done. When we work together, great things can happen for the American people – something Kentucky and Ohio are proving daily.”

The construction schedule calls for building the new bridge and improving roughly 1 mile of the highway approach in both Ohio and Kentucky. This will allow traffic on Interstates 71 and 75 as quickly as possible, according to the governor’s office. Subsequent portions of the project, including additional highway improvements in both states, and the rehabilitation of the existing Brent Spence Bridge are still being planned.

“This project has been discussed for decades, and we are now at the point where plans are becoming reality,” Ohio Department of Transportation Director (ODOT) Pamela Boratyn said. “This project will make travel safer, strengthen the economy and build a transportation system that reflects the importance of this region to Ohio, Kentucky and the nation. Getting to this point on the Ohio side has been a team effort with strong support from Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio General Assembly and local leaders. Together we are moving forward.”

The project is considered a major transportation project for the nation with impacts to both river and road traffic. On November 11, 2020, two commercial vehicles collided and caught fire, melting steel beams and wiring and damaging concrete directly above the navigable channel on the existing Brent Spence Bridge. As a result, the river closed to navigation for a mile in each direction from the bridge for parts of two days before it was assessed safe for river traffic to resume.

Traffic on that portion of I-71/I-75 was shut down for six weeks, with the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments saying it had caused major freight transportation issues, including those involving the transshipment of goods via Cincinnati’s many private river terminals. The new bridge provides an alternative river crossing and is expected to help alleviate traffic congestion.

As an indication of the project’s importance to the nation, former President Joe Biden and then-U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky visited the site together with the Ohio and Kentucky governors in 2023 to highlight it as an example of bipartisan support for infrastructure projects.

The first portion of the construction project is estimated to cost $4.05 billion, which has been verified by two independent estimators and factors in a significant rise in costs for construction materials, goods and services in recent years, according to Beshear’s office. Funding is expected to be covered through Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and ODOT state revenues and/or through financing, with each state covering the cost of its own highway work and sharing the cost of the bridge.

The new companion bridge is expected to be complete and open in 2031, according to preliminary estimates, although weather and construction schedules could affect that. The approach work is scheduled to be substantially complete by 2033.

As work gets underway, travel impacts and detours will be posted on the project website at brentspencebridgecorridor.com and across social media channels. Drivers may also sign up for notifications via email or text on the website or subscribe to a monthly e-newsletter with updates on project progress and work opportunities.