View source for Brent Spence Bridge

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|U.S. bridge between Kentucky and Ohio}}
{{Infobox Bridge
| bridge_name = Brent Spence Bridge
| image = Brent Spence Bridge 2018.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = The Brent Spence Bridge viewed from [[Covington, Kentucky]]
| carries = 8 lanes (4 upper, 4 lower) of {{jct|country=USA|I|71|I|75}}
| crosses = [[Ohio River]]
| locale = [[Covington, Kentucky]] and [[Cincinnati|Cincinnati, Ohio]]
| maint = [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://maps.kytc.ky.gov/bridgedataminer/ | title=ArcGIS Web Application }}</ref>
| design = [[Cantilever bridge]]
| mainspan = {{convert|830.5|ft|m}}
| length = {{convert|1736|ft|m}}<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.brentspence.com/about.html| title=About| website=Brent Spence Bridge| access-date=May 7, 2014| archive-date=August 27, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827204616/http://brentspence.com/about.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>
| cost = $10 million<ref>{{cite news| title=Bridge forces push forward, pull together| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/05/07/focus3.html?page=all| first=Andrea |last=Tortora| newspaper=[[American City Business Journals|Cincinnati Business Courier]]| date=May 3, 2007}}</ref> (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|10|1963|fmt=c|r=0}} million in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars)
| open = {{start date and age|November 25, 1963}}
| mapframe-zoom = 13
| id_type = Restrictions
| coordinates = {{coord|39.09087|-84.52291|region:US_type:landmark}}
}}
The '''Brent Spence Bridge''' is a double decker, [[Truss bridge#Cantilever truss|cantilevered truss bridge]] that carries Interstates [[Interstate 71|71]] and [[Interstate 75|75]] across the [[Ohio River]] between [[Covington, Kentucky|Covington]], [[Kentucky]] and [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]]. The top deck carries Kentucky-bound traffic while the bottom deck carries Ohio-bound traffic.

==History==
[[File:Cincinnati oh skyline.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The Brent Spence Bridge is the leftmost bridge viewed from the Kentucky side]]
The bridge was named for Kentucky's longest serving congressman at the time, [[Brent Spence]], who served in the [[U.S. Congress]] for over thirty years before retiring in January 1963. The bridge, which opened a year after his retirement, was named in his honor by then Kentucky governor [[Bert T. Combs]]. Spence did not feel that he deserved the honor, and lobbied for the Bridge to be named for [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] (who had been assassinated only three days before the bridge was supposed to open). Combs, however, resisted this effort at modesty by Spence and kept the name, though Combs would name the [[John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge]] in [[Louisville, Kentucky]] (which opened two weeks after the Spence) after the late president just days after Kennedy's assassination.

When the bridge opened in November 1963, it carried only three lanes of traffic each way across the Ohio River. In 1985, the emergency shoulders were eliminated, and the bridge was re-striped with four lanes in each direction, increasing the traffic capacity by 33%, earning the bridge the determination of being 'functionally obsolete' due to carrying more traffic than it was originally designed to carry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guide to Bridge Condition Terms |url=https://nationalbridges.com/guide-to-ratings |website=The National Bridge Inventory Database |access-date=January 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726051027/https://nationalbridges.com/guide-to-ratings |archive-date=July 26, 2011}}</ref> The bridge was designed to carry 85,000 vehicles per day, but in 2006 it carried 150,000 vehicles per day.<ref name="existing-report">{{cite web|title=Existing and Future Conditions|publisher=Brent Spence Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation Project|url=https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/2006_ExistingAndFutureConditions.pdf|date=February 2006|access-date=March 10, 2015|archive-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331205840/https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/2006_ExistingAndFutureConditions.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Recent reports show that contrary to previous traffic expectations, traffic on the Brent Spence Bridge has actually decreased by 9 percent between 2009 and 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wetterich |first1=Chris |title=Cincinnati's Brent Spence Bridge traffic decreasing; new bridge still needed, planners say |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2016/03/despite-decreasing-brent-spence-traffic-planners.html |access-date=January 12, 2021 |newspaper=Cincinnati Business Courier |date=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

On September 15, 2011, chunks of concrete from the Ohio side ramp connected to the bridge fell onto a vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Concrete beam falls on car near Paul Brown Stadium, ODOT investigates|date=September 15, 2014|first=Lisa|last=Hutson|publisher=WXIX|url=https://www.fox19.com/story/26536383/odot-investigating-falling-concrete-near-paul-brown-stadium}}</ref> This incident prompted fears that the bridge might be in danger of collapse, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet later declared the bridge safe.<ref name="Cincinnati-Business-Courrier">{{cite journal| url=https://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2008/03/cincinnati-council-resolves-to-save.html| title=Despite decreasing Brent Spence traffic, planners say new bridge is necessary| last=LeMaster| first=Kevin| date=March 28, 2008| access-date=December 8, 2021| journal=Building Cincinnati}}</ref>

In the early morning hours of November 11, 2020, a fiery accident involving two semi-trucks, one of which was carrying caustic chemicals, caused the bridge to be closed to traffic.<ref>{{cite news| date=November 11, 2020| title=Brent Spence Bridge to be closed for several days after fiery semitruck crash, officials say| url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/semitruck-explosion-closes-both-directions-of-brent-spence-bridge/34638509| access-date=November 11, 2020| website=[[WLWT]] News| language=en}}</ref><ref name="kygovstatement">{{cite news| url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/semitruck-explosion-closes-both-directions-of-brent-spence-bridge/34638509| title=Brent Spence Bridge to be closed for several days after fiery semitruck crash, officials say| date=November 11, 2020| website=WLWT News| access-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref> Following the accident, the Brent Spence Bridge was closed for safety inspections. Traffic on Interstates 71 and 75 that normally used the bridge to cross the Ohio River, was rerouted to other auxiliary interstates.<ref name="kygovstatement" /> The U.S. Coast Guard also temporarily closed the Ohio River to all traffic while the bridge inspections were underway.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/transportation-development/brent-spence-bridge/ohio-river-closed-to-water-traffic-after-brent-spence-bridge-inspection| title=Ohio River closed to water traffic after Brent Spence Bridge inspection| last=Rosenstiel| first=Sam| date=November 13, 2020| website=[[WCPO-TV|WCPO News]]| access-date=December 2, 2020}}</ref> On November 16, Kentucky Governor [[Andy Beshear]] announced that the accident and subsequent fire did not compromise the integrity of the bridge. [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet|Kentucky Transportation Secretary]] [[Jim Gray (American politician)|Jim Gray]] stated that the damage was confined to a {{cvt|200|ft||}} section of the bridge.<ref name="wkrc2020">{{cite web | website = [[WKEF|Dayton 24/7 Now]] | title = Target date to reopen Brent Spence Bridge is Dec. 23 | date = 16 November 2020 | url = https://dayton247now.com/beshear-set-to-update-brent-spence-bridge-closure | access-date = 4 January 2023}}</ref> The bridge reopened on December 22, one day ahead of schedule.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sparling |first1=Hannah K. |last2=Knight |first2=Cameron |title=Cincinnati's Brent Spence Bridge is back open |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/12/21/brent-spence-bridge-reopen-over-ohio-river/3869387001/ |access-date=January 12, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |date=December 22, 2020}}</ref>

==New companion bridge==
[[File:Ohio River and Cincinnati 2009.JPG|thumb|300px|left|View of the [[B & O Freight Terminal (Cincinnati, Ohio)]] (in the background) and the Brent Spence Bridge]]
In 2008, the Cincinnati City Council supported a plan called Alternative #4, which involved building a new bridge to carry I-75 at the current location and demolishing the Brent Spence Bridge.<ref name="Cincinnati_council">{{cite web| first=Kevin| last=LeMaster| url=https://buildingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2008/03/cincinnati-council-resolves-to-save.html| title=Cincinnati council resolves to save Queensgate businesses, light rail options| website=Building Cincinnati| date=March 28, 2008}}</ref> Alternative #4 entailed building a parallel bridge just west of the Brent Spence Bridge.<ref name="solutions">{{cite web |website=Brent Spence Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation Project |url=https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/BSBC_ConceptualAlternativeStudy.pdf |title=Brent Spence Bridge Conceptual Alternatives Study |date=April 2009 |access-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194429/https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/BSBC_ConceptualAlternativeStudy.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It would again be a two-deck bridge, except the top deck would carry all I-75 traffic and the bottom deck would carry south I-71 and local traffic.<ref name="solutions" /> The I-75 deck would have a total of 6 lanes, with 3 lanes each for north and south traffic.<ref name="solutions" /> The I-71 deck would be a total of 5 lanes, divided into 3 lanes for south local traffic, and 2 lanes of south 71 traffic.<ref name="solutions" /> Additionally, Cincinnati City Council expressed interest in using the bridge for a [[light rail]] system that would connect downtown Cincinnati to the [[Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport]].<ref name="Cincinnati_council" />

In 2012, a new plan known as Alternative I was designated as the "Selected Alternative." The plan still entailed building a new double deck bridge just west of the existing Brent Spence Bridge, this time with three lanes each way for I-75, two lanes for southbound I-71, and three lanes for southbound local traffic.<ref>{{cite web| first=Laura| last=Leffler| title=Finding of No Significant Impact| publisher=Federal Highway Administration| date=August 9, 2012| url=https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/FONSI.pdf| access-date=March 10, 2015| archive-date=September 23, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194445/https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/FONSI.pdf| url-status=dead}}</ref> The major change  under Alternative I was that the existing Brent Spence Bridge was to be rehabilitated to carry two lanes for northbound I-71 and three lanes for northbound local traffic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Environmental Assessment|publisher=Brent Spence Bridge Replacement/Rehabilitation Project|date=March 2012|page=14|url=https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/Brent%20Spence%20Bridge%20Environmental%20Assessment%20March%202012.pdf|access-date=March 10, 2015|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194440/https://www.brentspencebridgecorridor.com/uploads/pdfs/Brent%20Spence%20Bridge%20Environmental%20Assessment%20March%202012.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2021, an upgrade or replacement of the Brent Spence Bridge was prioritized in the [[Build Back Better Plan#American Jobs Plan|American Jobs Plan]], which was later reworked into the [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]] signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rojas |first=Rick |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/infrastructure-projects-joe-biden.html/ |title=Seven Infrastructure Problems in Urgent Need of Fixing |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 2, 2021 |access-date=December 8, 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> With potential funding thus in place, refining the plan in conversation with local stakeholders progressed more rapidly. By late spring 2022, while the bridge design and location of Alternative I was largely maintained, the traffic design plan had been replaced by three updated concepts, known as M, W, and S, with Concept W, an alternative developed in 2015 which would separate local and through traffic by placing all I-71 and I-75 traffic on the new bridge and limit traffic on the existing bridge to local traffic only, emerging as the favored option. Concept W also calls for returning the existing Brent Spence Bridge to the original design of three lanes in each direction, with the original wider shoulders.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/wp-content/themes/bsb/docs/2015/Whiz%20Bang%20Concepts%202%20and%204%20Prel%20Traffic%20Anal%20Memo.pdf |title= Whiz Bang Concepts 2 and 4: Preliminary Traffic Analysis Memorandum |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= December 2, 2015|website= Brent Spence Bridge Corridor |publisher=[[Ohio Department of Transportation]] and [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] |access-date= June 24, 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/wp-content/themes/bsb/docs/2020/BSB%20Traffic%20and%20Concept%20Analysis.pdf |title= Brent Spence Bridge: Traffic and Concept Analysis |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= May 2020|website= Brent Spence Bridge Corridor |publisher=[[Ohio Department of Transportation]] and [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] |access-date= June 24, 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/wp-content/themes/bsb/docs/2020/Analysis%20of%20Design%20Concepts.pdf |title= Brent Spence Bridge Project: Analysis of Design Concepts |author=<!--Not stated--> | date= May 2020 |website= Brent Spence Bridge Corridor |publisher=[[Ohio Department of Transportation]] and [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] |access-date= June 24, 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/wp-content/themes/bsb/docs/2021/2021-11-4%20Brent_Spence_Summary%20Report.pdf |title= Brent Spence Bridge Project: Project Summary Report |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= November 4, 2021|website= Brent Spence Bridge Corridor |publisher=[[Ohio Department of Transportation]] and [[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] |access-date= June 24, 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.covingtonky.gov/news/2022/06/15/state-covington-reach-monumental-agreement-on-brent-spence-bridge |title= State, Covington reach monumental agreement on Brent Spence Bridge |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= June 15, 2022 |website=City of Covington |publisher= | access-date= June 24, 2022 |quote=}}</ref> It was this plan that Kentucky and Ohio moved forward with in their application for federal funding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://governor.ky.gov/attachments/BSB-Corridor-Project-MPDG-Narrative.pdf |title= Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project: Application for Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant |author=<!--Not stated--> | date= May 23, 2022|publisher=[[Kentucky Transportation Cabinet]] |access-date= June 26, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1 = Berry | first1 = Rachel | last2 = Tucker| first2  = Randy |date= February 28, 2022 |title= New Ohio River bridge next to Brent Spence won't require tolls, governors of Ohio and Kentucky say |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2022/02/28/brent-spence-bridge-ohio-kentucky-to-seek-2-b-for-new-bridge-over-ohio-river/6972104001/ |work=[[Cincinnati Enquirer]] |location= |access-date= June 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= LeDuc |first=Christian
 |date= May 24, 2022 |title=Brent Spence Bridge: OH and KY submit joint application for nearly $2 billion in federal funding |url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/transportation-development/brent-spence-bridge/brent-spence-bridge-oh-and-ky-submit-joint-application-for-nearly-2-billion-in-federal-funding |work=[[WCPE]] |location= | access-date= June 24, 2022}}</ref>

===Approved and funded plan===
On December 29, 2022, the Biden administration signed a federal funding package of $1.6 billion to help repair the bridge. The plan calls for reconfiguring the existing bridge for local traffic only.<ref name="reconfigured">{{cite news |title=Roughly $1.6 billion secured for new Brent Spence Bridge construction |url=https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/roughly-1-6-billion-secured-for-new-brent-spence-bridge-construction |access-date=December 30, 2022 |work=WCPO 9 Cincinnati |date=December 29, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The plan includes building a new, yet to be named, companion bridge to be used as an express path for highway traffic through the downtown Cincinnati and Covington corridor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bittenbender |first1=Steve |title=Kentucky, Indiana want more than $630M in federal funding for I-69 project |url=https://www.thecentersquare.com/indiana/article_3e16a424-40f8-11ee-a6f3-7f43dbeb9607.html |access-date=22 August 2023 |work=The Center Square |date=22 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Construction on the bridge is to begin in 2024 and is expected to take eight years to complete. According to this timeline, the new bridge and reconfigured Brent Spence Bridge will open for traffic in 2032.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Underwood |first1=Alese |title=Cincinnati residents review plans for Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/08/24/cincinnati-residents-review-plans-for-brent-spence-bridge-corridor-project |access-date=December 18, 2023 |work=[[Spectrum News]] |date=August 24, 2023}}</ref> In May 2024, the Federal Highway Administration approved the environmental assessment submitted by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Ohio Department of Transportation, allowing the project to proceed to the final design phase.<ref>{{cite news |last=|first=|url=https://www.lanereport.com/173582/2024/05/3-6b-brent-spence-bridge-corridor-project-gets-environmental-ok/ |title=$3.6B Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project gets environmental OK |work=The Lane Report |date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=May 16, 2024}}</ref>

Because the new bridge project will require rerouting sections of I-75, in early 2024 city officials proposed minor changes to the plan to include revisions to the surface-level street grid. This would allow the [[Queensgate, Cincinnati|Queensgate]] neighborhood, largely razed in the 1960s as part of [[Slum clearance in the United States|slum clearance]] and [[urban renewal]], to be reconnected to downtown Cincinnati.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Newberry |first1= Patricia Gallagher |title=Ex-mayors want street grid with Brent Spence Bridge project. If built, what could come? |url = https://news.yahoo.com/ex-mayors-want-street-grid-032517201.html?ref=upstract.com |access-date=13 Apr 2024 |work=[[Cincinnati Enquirer]] |date=20 February 2024}}</ref> In late May 2024, this proposal, along with other minor changes, was approved.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Newberry |first1= Patricia Gallagher |title=Brent Spence Bridge project now includes hoped-for street grid to Queensgate |url = https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/31/what-is-changing-in-the-brent-spence-bridge-project/73921593007/ |access-date=4 Jun 2024 |work=[[Cincinnati Enquirer]] |date=31 May 2024|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}
* {{Portal-inline|Ohio}}
* [[List of crossings of the Ohio River]]
* [[Cut-in-the-Hill]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* [https://www.cincinnati.com/news/bridge/ Cincinnati Enquirer Special about the Brent Spence Bridge]
* {{Structurae|id=20005003|title=Brent Spence Bridge}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006160335/https://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/ohio-river/brent-spence-bridge-interstate-71-interstate-75/ Brent Spence Bridge] at Bridges & Tunnels
* [https://www.cincinnati-transit.net/brentspence.html Brent Spence Bridge] at Cincinnati-Transit.net
* [https://brentspencebridgecorridor.com/ Brent Spence Bridge Corridor study] (for bridge replacement/redevelopment)
* [https://www.brentspence.com Brent Spence Bridge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225101454/https://www.brentspence.com/ |date=February 25, 2009 }}
* [https://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0511brentspencebridgedesign.aspx Bold design sought for Brent Spence Bridge replacement]

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Bridges
|place           = [[Ohio River]]
|bridge          = Brent Spence Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[File:I-71.svg|20px]] [[File:I-75.svg|20px]]
|upstream        = [[C&O Railroad Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = ''CSX Transportation''
|downstream      = [[Cincinnati Southern Bridge]]
|downstream signs = ''Norfolk Southern Railway''
}}

[[Category:Bridges in Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Ohio River]]
[[Category:Interstate 75]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1963]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Ohio]]
[[Category:Interstate 71]]
[[Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System]]
[[Category:Cantilever bridges in the United States]]