By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Another major milestone toward making the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project a reality has been reached, thanks to the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the supplemental environmental assessment for public review.
The document is available online at www.PublicInput.com/bsbc, in print at the Kenton County Public Library in Covington and at the West End Branch of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library.
Members of the public are invited to attend and provide feedback at any of the five public hearings being held this week.
The purpose of the upcoming hearings is to present project information and allow members of the public to provide comments on the supplemental environmental assessment. The same information will be presented at each hearing in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as online.
Registration is not required to attend the hearings.
The schedule is:
In-Person, Tuesday, Feb. 20
Radisson Hotel
668 W. Fifth St. Covington
Noon-3:30 p.m.
4:30-8 p.m.
In-Person, Wednesday, Feb. 21
Longworth Hall Event Center
700 W. Pete Rose Way, Lobby C Cincinnati
Noon-3:30 p.m.
4:30-8 p.m.
Virtual, Thursday, Feb. 22
Virtual Hearing 5:30 to 7 p.m. www.PublicInput.com/bsbc
Each in-person hearing will begin with an open house where participants may browse project exhibits, review project information, and talk one-on-one with project team members. Participants may also provide a written comment or dictate comments privately to a court reporter during the open house.
One hour after the start of each in-person meeting, a formal presentation about the project and its assessment will be made to attendees.
Afterward, attendees will have an opportunity to make comments at a microphone, addressing the project team.
The $3.6 billion project will be built without tolls and transform an eight-mile portion of the I-71/75 interstate corridor, including a companion bridge immediately to the west of the existing bridge.
More information about the project is available at BrentSpenceBridgeCorridor.com.
It is slated to begin in late 2024 with substantial completion by 2029.
The Brent Spence Bridge carries Interstate 71 and Interstate 75 traffic across the Ohio River between Covington and Cincinnati. The project will address one of the worst truck bottlenecks in the U.S., by improving safety and travel on the interstate connection that carries more the $700 million worth of freight annually.