The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Ohio Department of Transportation held a press conference Friday afternoon to release seven changes in the design of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, which include three major changes on the Kentucky side and four on the Ohio side. The updates do not relate to the bridge itself but rather the road networks along the eight-mile project corridor, which runs along I-71 and I-75 from Crescent Springs north past Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood.
Stacee Hans, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s project manager for the project, stated that the changes came out of conversations with the project’s design team as well as feedback from the project’s recent round of public input.
The three changes on the Kentucky side are as follows:
- Lowering the profile of the interstate by about 30 feet between 9th Street and the new companion bridge. This change especially, Hans said, came from feedback from Kentucky residents during the public comment period.
- Moving the entrance locations to the interstate system from their original location on 9th Street, a largely residential area, to Pike Street, which is more commercial. This aims to preserve the residential nature of the area around 9th Street, a concern that came up from public comments. This will also reduce impacts on Goebel Park.
- Realigning the interstate through the Cut in the Hill to the east, eliminating the need for significant excavation of the rock embankment. This will include the 94-foot retaining wall.
“The innovations themselves came through conversation with the design-build team, getting some very creative thinkers in the room basically,” Hans said. “But we went to them with the understanding that ‘Hey, when we were in the public comment, we heard there was was concern about the view. What can we do to fix that?'”
The third change, Hans said, came less from public input and more from recommendations from the design team, which they believed would cut costs. Hans did not know off-hand an exact figure for how much money would be saved with the measures, but stated that it would likely be a big “chunk of change.”
The four changes on the Ohio side include the following:
- Southbound I-75 will be moved to the western edge of the corridor, freeing up an additional acre for development or green space, about 10 acres. It will also allow the roadway to be constructed while minimizing disruptions to traffic on existing southbound I-75.
- A new intersection will be added at West Ninth and Gest streets, and improvements will be made at the intersection of West Seventh and Gest streets.
- The project team plans to combine the I-75 southbound ramps to Second and Third streets, which project leaders say will reduce both costs and the project’s footprint.
- The team is reconfiguring the U.S. 50/Columbia Parkway lanes, which they say will improve safety and traffic flow.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Project Manager for the Project Tommy Arnold said the project team will continue to work with the public to hammer out the details in the coming months.
“We’ll be confirming our environmental studies and traffic studies on these design refinements, and we’ll also be doing more outreach,” Arnold said. “So this summer we’ll be meeting with community councils, community groups and community stakeholders to continue to unveil and work together on these concepts.”
Representatives from Bridge Forward Coalition, a Cincinnati-based advocacy group that has been lobbying for a reduced footprint from the project, also attended the press conference. They’ve held multiple events to discuss their views on the project and have even released their own set of recommendations and design alternatives.
Brian Boland, Bridge Foward’s founder, was especially pleased with the changes to the street grid on the Ohio side. Josh Junker, the group’s communications director, said they appreciated the willingness of the project to listen to their suggestions.
“We are pretty pleased with some of the design changes they’ve made,” Junker said. “It does show they’ve done a good faith effort, in at least evaluating our design and looking at what they can do–constructability, seeing how they can narrow the footprint and everything–and we’re looking forward to more of the project changes.”
“These innovations are a key part of continuing the transformational changes we’re making to boost Kentucky’s economy and ensure a higher quality of life here and beyond our borders,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a press release from the cabinet. “They are a testament to the collaboration, teamwork and goals each state shares to build a better corridor while fulfilling our good neighbor pledge.”
The project is slated to begin construction later this year and is expected to continue through at least 2029.
View more renderings, maps, documents and other information about the project at brentspencebridgecorridor.com.