The Federal Highway Administration concluded its legally required environmental review of the Brent Spence Bridge Replacement project this week, officially giving the project a green light to begin the final stages of design work and begin construction. The federal agency issued a finding of no significant impact.
The administration’s “determination with the ‘finding of no significant impact,’ or FONSI, is based on a supplemental environmental assessment conducted by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Ohio Department of Transportation,” according to a press release from the project. “The assessment evaluated the social, economic and environmental effects of the project as well as measures to mitigate unavoidable impacts. The decision is also based on the highway administration’s consideration of public and agency comments received during the public comment period.”
Large federally funded construction projects like the bridge are required to undergo an assessment of how they will affect the local environment. The project underwent an initial review in 2012, which also concluded with a finding of no significant impact, but the project languished for about a decade due to lack of funding.
In 2022, the federal government issued $1.6 billion to the project as part of the Infrastructure & Jobs Investment Act–the rough overall cost of the project is $3.6 billion. This triggered a review of the project’s environmental assessment to bring the information therein up to date.
Part of the review included a period of public comments, which included several public open-houses where members of the local community could submit comments and ask questions.
“The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project is a testament to what can happen when we work together to get things done,” said Gov. Andy Beshear in the press release. “The federal approval is a major milestone for us, and we’re grateful to all our partners and communities for their feedback. We look forward to completing this project, which will further boost our economic growth and create more good jobs for our families.”
Read LINK nky’s reporting on how the project may affect the environment below.
View documents, maps and timelines of the project at its website.