On Friday, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) announced the supplemental environmental assessment for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project had been approved by the Federal Highway Administration and was available for public review.
The $3.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project is a joint effort by the KYTC and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). The FHWA’s approval of the review marks a major milestone for the project that will replace the existing bridge with a new one.
Officials said the review will be available for public review at the Kenton County Public Library in Covington and at the West End Branch of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library, as well as online. Members of the public can provide feedback at any one of five upcoming public hearings, the KYTC said.
The hearings will allow the departments to provide project information and allow for public comments on the supplemental environmental assessment. During each hearing, project exhibits will be on display for the public, as well as other project information, and attendees will get the chance to talk one-on-one with project team members, as well as provide written or verbal comments about the project. A virtual hearing will be held between 5:30 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 22.
Officials said the project remains on schedule for completion in 2029. Last January, the two states received $1.6 billion in federal grants that eliminated the need for tolls, and in July the project announced Walsh Kokosing would be the design-build team.
The bridge is a main corridor from Ohio into Kentucky, and the Brent Spence project will transform an eight-mile portion of the existing I-71/I-75 interstate corridor, including a companion bridge immediately to the west of the existing bridge.