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[The Great Zo]

The Brent Spence Bridge, which carries I-71 and I-75 over the Ohio River between Cincinnati OH and Covington KY, has long since been declared functionally obsolete. I found this Cincinnati Enquirer Special Report, which I found relevant and insightful, and only after reading half of it did I realize it was published in September 2003! Yes, this is an issue that has been out there for a long time. Plans to develop its replacement/twinning are underway, but with no construction imminently scheduled.

In August, a Finding of No Significant Impact was issued, meaning that an EIS will not be necessary. One thing I find interesting, from a roadgeek-perspective, is that (unless I'm reading the recommended alternative maps wrong) the I-71/I-75 concurrency would no longer exist at all in Ohio. I-71 would cross the river using the Brent Spence Bridge, while I-75 traffic would use the new span.

Funding the project has always been the biggest issue, and now the PR war is beginning to heat up between those on either side of the tolling debate. That includes TV campaigns -- just a month removed from the skull-smashing Moroun spots back in my native Michigan, now I get stuck with more bridge ads here in Ohio. In favor of an expedited schedule (which would almost certainly involve a tolled bridge) is a consortium made up of a laundry list of Cincinnati-area companies and organizations. Ohio governor John Kasich and Kentucky governor Steve Beshear are also in favor of tolls. Opposed to tolling is a tea party group, as well as a local lawyer / radio host. The Kentucky legislature isn't keen on the idea either.

I saw one old thread on this, but nothing posted recently. This project is probably worth a thread for discussion, although sadly I imagine it's going to be little more than real-world political bickering for the next couple years.

FHWA project website: http://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

The Brent Spence Bridge, which carries I-71 and I-75 over the Ohio River between Cincinnati OH and Covington KY, has long since been declared functionally obsolete. I found this Cincinnati Enquirer Special Report, which I found relevant and insightful, and only after reading half of it did I realize it was published in September 2003! Yes, this is an issue that has been out there for a long time. Plans to develop its replacement/twinning are underway, but with no construction imminently scheduled.

In August, a Finding of No Significant Impact was issued, meaning that an EIS will not be necessary. One thing I find interesting, from a roadgeek-perspective, is that (unless I'm reading the recommended alternative maps wrong) the I-71/I-75 concurrency would no longer exist at all in Ohio. I-71 would cross the river using the Brent Spence Bridge, while I-75 traffic would use the new span.

Funding the project has always been the biggest issue, and now the PR war is beginning to heat up between those on either side of the tolling debate. That includes TV campaigns -- just a month removed from the skull-smashing Moroun spots back in my native Michigan, now I get stuck with more bridge ads here in Ohio. In favor of an expedited schedule (which would almost certainly involve a tolled bridge) is a consortium made up of a laundry list of Cincinnati-area companies and organizations. Ohio governor John Kasich and Kentucky governor Steve Beshear are also in favor of tolls. Opposed to tolling is a tea party group, as well as a local lawyer / radio host. The Kentucky legislature isn't keen on the idea either.

Would the radio host/lawyer type be Bill Cunningham?

[DevalDragon]

I love the idea of tolls. With congestion being the biggest problem, nothing alleviates congestion more than a tollbooth!

[seicer]

Proposed signage:

[andy3175]

Proposed signage:

Wow, those are all going to be Exit 1B? That's the sort of thing I've seen with Caltrans, but didn't expect to see it pop up here (isn't there an "alphabet soup" of suffixed exit numbers here?).

[vtk]

Proposed signage:

Wow, those are all going to be Exit 1B? That's the sort of thing I've seen with Caltrans, but didn't expect to see it pop up here (isn't there an "alphabet soup" of suffixed exit numbers here?).

There is, but you're past most of the alphabet by this point. I'm guessing this sign gantry is on 75 SB just after the Freeman Ave / Gest St exit (which I'm assuming isn't changing significantly).  All these exits are getting the same designation because they diverge from the mainline together.

As for graphic critique… everything's pattern accurate, except most of the legend in Arial, plus mixed-case cardinals?  Also, lane spacing is way off; the layout will have to be changed to fix it.

[hbelkins]

I love the idea of tolls. With congestion being the biggest problem, nothing alleviates congestion more than a tollbooth!

It'll be AET, no booths required.

[Buck87]

One thing I find interesting, from a roadgeek-perspective, is that (unless I'm reading the recommended alternative maps wrong) the I-71/I-75 concurrency would no longer exist at all in Ohio. I-71 would cross the river using the Brent Spence Bridge, while I-75 traffic would use the new span.

Yep (though it's with 71 using both bridges, north on the old one & south on the new one)

I can't seem to find a still pic of the bridge deck rendering (I had seen one somewhere before), but it does appear in this newly posted video at the 2:12 mark:

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I love the idea of tolls. With congestion being the biggest problem, nothing alleviates congestion more than a tollbooth!

The congestion is due to the shape and length of I-275, leaving no reasonable bypass alternative to driving through city center on either I-71 or I-75; tolls will do absolutely nothing to alleviate this.

[NE2]

I-471 is a bypass of I-71. It probably gets just as busy.

[aboges26]

I-471 is a bypass of I-71. It probably gets just as busy.

It does not get even half as busy, any congestion on I-471 is from commuters at peak hours.  The interstate does not connect back to I-71 and instead heads southeast to end at I-275 right by the Hwy 9/AA Highway's interchange with I-275.  Hwy 9/AA Highway runs NW-SE across northeastern Kentucky, roughly paralleling the Ohio River from Newport to Grayson on I-64.  The highway is Kentucky's answer for an express connection across this part of the state to serve as a backbone for road transportation from north KY to NE and east KY.  There are a fair amount of interchanges with numerous controlled access sections, although most of these sections are of the Super-2, at-grade variety.

My family used to commute between Michigan and Kentucky for several years, and we would use US 23 in Michigan to 475>>75 in Ohio.  We would travel down to KY on Fridays and back on Sundays for the most part and we experienced numerous traffic jams in all the notorious sections along this route.  I did get to witness a lot of construction, like the 8 lane sections creeping north towards Dayton, the I-70/75 interchange reconstruction, and also the beginning of the reconstruction of the interchange with OH 4.  The Brent Spence Bridge was always, without fail, the worst spot on the corridor if hit at any time other than late at night.

That being said, if the traffic back up from the Brent Spence was worse than normal (usually due to accidents, construction, or Bengals/Reds game fan exodus), we would use I-275 to I-71 to I-471 to I-275 back to I-71/75 in Kentucky and the reverse when northbound frequently.  This would serve as a good bypass for us, even if adding miles and movements.  However, at times when both routes would be clogged we would welcome either wide arcing I-275 loop.

[hbelkins]

The biggest congestion issues I've run into in the Cincinnati area (non-construction variety) have been well north of the river; in the area north of the Norwood Lateral toward Paddock Road, and from the northern end of the Lockland Split toward I-275.

Last time I was going to Dayton and knew I'd get caught in Cincinnati rush hour traffic, I took KY 11 to Maysville, then US 68 north to OH 73 and made my way over to Dayton. It beat the heck out of sitting in a standstill traffic jam on I-75.

That anti-toll bunch in northern Kentucky is going to end up costing them a new bridge.

[iBallasticwolf2]

That anti-toll bunch in northern Kentucky is going to end up costing them a new bridge.

I agree, we need the new bridge, it is much more important than the Interstate 69 bridge over the Ohio River in Evansville

[iBallasticwolf2]

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/05/11/ted-strickland-brent-spence-bridge-tolls/27147347/

[Henry]

I think this will be a worthwhile project for the Cincinnati area, but why are the proposed signs showing Exit 1B serving Covington? I've always thought that except in rare instances, exits in another state get their own number instead of sharing that in the one before (or after) it. In this case, Exit 192 in Covington is served by the proposed Exit 1B, which doesn't seem to be right at all.

[iBallasticwolf2]

The configuration with between the new bridge and the old bridge is very confusing. I cannot seem to find anything that makes sense for it because it seems like there will be I-71 on two different bridges as well as a straw set of lanes of the new bridge and one way traffic on the old. Very confusing. It should be I-75 on the top deck of the new one, and I-71 on the bottom deck of the new one. And lastly the new local traffic on the two decks of the existing bridge.

[GCrites80s]

People demanding another bridge here would crap their pants if they went to New York City.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Damnit, still no progress.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/money/2015/06/25/brent-spence-progress/29268619/

[Henry]

Three more years? Yawn.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Thirty more years? Yawn.

FTFY

[iBallasticwolf2]

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/07/12/brent-spence-bridge-five-things/30025343/

 

[DeaconG]

The only way this is probably going to get dealt with in anyone's lifetime is if you end up with another Minneapolis I-35W disaster.  When the Brent Spence plunges into the Ohio everyone will quit bitching and set their agendas aside.

I  hate to say it, but how else are you going to get these idiots off the dime?

[iBallasticwolf2]

The only way this is probably going to get dealt with in anyone's lifetime is if you end up with another Minneapolis I-35W disaster.  When the Brent Spence plunges into the Ohio everyone will quit bitching and set their agendas aside.

I  hate to say it, but how else are you going to get these idiots off the dime?

The bridge isn't in that bad of condition but of course the I-35W bridge wasn't in horrible condition either. I could see that if the bridge isn't dealt with for 50+ years the thing will be more likely to be replaced because of collapsing or old age.

[DeaconG]

Oh, I'm not arguing that point at all. I have a saying I use when things start going off on a tangent-"Recriminations later, fix it NOW."

Stop the political posturing and pretending you're doing something for your constituents and get this thing done.

[GCrites80s]

The only way this is probably going to get dealt with in anyone's lifetime is if you end up with another Minneapolis I-35W disaster.  When the Brent Spence plunges into the Ohio everyone will quit bitching and set their agendas aside.

There certanly are a lot of people out there trying to make it sound like the bridge is structurally deficient rather than just functionally obsolete. Of course cities that are functionally obsolete are extremely popular while ones that aren't seem to lose a lot of their intelligentsia to cities that are.