Written by Felicia Jordan, digital content producer at WCPO 9
Governors Mike DeWine and Andy Beshear plan to announce new information in the fight to find a solution to traffic snarls and congestion on the Brent Spence Bridge on Monday.
According to a press release sent out Sunday, Beshear and DeWine will provide information on “a new effort to secure funding” on Monday at 2 p.m. They plan to make the announcement from the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington.
The bridge has been a point of contention and frustration for lawmakers and local commuters alike for years. Several potential solutions have been proposed over the years, including constructing a new, parallel bridge that may or may not demand tolls (it likely won’t).
DeWine himself declared that solving the Brent Spence problem would be a high priority after he was inaugurated as governor in 2019 while standing with then-Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin.
Talks of replacing the bridge stalled with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, however.
Later in 2020, those talks reignited once more after the bridge itself, well, ignited.
A fiery crash involving two semi tractor trailers set the bridge ablaze in a chemical fire that burned for hours and closed the Brent Spence Bridge for months.
Then came 2021, the bridge’s ranking as the nation’s second-worst traffic bottleneck, and the promise of an infrastructure bill. In January, President Joe Biden announced the creation of the Bridge Formula Program through the bill, which allocates more than $27 billion to states to fix bridges nationwide.
From that, Ohio is expected to receive $483.3 million over five years, with over $100 million of that set to be available this year. Kentucky would also receive $438 million total, with roughly $87.7 million available this year. That fund is different from grant funding available through the infrastructure bill, which means more dollars could be available to Ohio and Kentucky through grant applications.
It’s unclear whether the Bridge Formula Program funds will play a part in the governors’ announcement on Monday, or if their funding announcement is tied to another source altogether.
Mark Policinksi, CEO of the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments said in January he believed it was likely Ohio and Kentucky would work together to apply for federal grants under the infrastructure bill to cover any project relating to the Brent Spence Bridge.
“The big take away is the money is starting to come,” said Policinksi in January. “The bill was passed in November and the money is starting to come. A lot more money is coming down the road and it’s going to be very, very competitive.”
The possible reality of funding to solve the Brent Spence Bridge’s traffic debacles has been just out of reach for drivers in the Tri-State for years and time has become a crucial component. Opened 59 years ago, the bridge has long been considered functionally obsolete, carrying about 180,000 vehicles a day, which is more traffic than it was built to handle.
The bridge has officially needed a replacement since at least 1998, when the Federal Highway Administration determined it was no longer accommodating traffic needs.
This article originally appeared on WCPO.com.