Brent Spence Bridge - Replacement

Replacement

When the bridge opened in November 1963 it carried three lanes of traffic each way across the Ohio River. In 1986, the emergency shoulders were eliminated, and the bridge was restriped with four lanes in each direction. The bridge was designed to carry 85,000 vehicles per day, but in 2007 it carried 155,000 vehicles per day. It is expected to carry 200,000 vehicles per day by 2013. On June 21, 2011, chunks of concrete from the upper deck of the bridge fell onto the lower deck. Construction crews closed lanes on both decks of the bridge, causing traffic delays of two hours or more. All lanes of the bridge were reportedly re-opened by June 22, 2011, but local commuters were encouraged to eliminate the Brent Spence Bridge from their daily drive until at least July 1, 2011. This incident lead to the belief that the Brent Spence Bridge is in immediate need of replacement and in danger of collapse. Residents often believe the bridge to be structurally deficient, but it is actually functionally obsolete.

A study is currently underway to investigate the replacement and/or rehabilitation of the bridge. One proposal is building a new bridge for I-75 downstream. Others include building a new bridge, either at the current location or downstream. If the current bridge is not rehabilitated for interstate traffic, it will either be demolished or rehabilitated for local street traffic.

Cincinnati City Council supports alternative #4, which involves building a new bridge to carry I-75 at the current location, and demolishing the Brent Spence Bridge. Alternative #4 would build a parallel bridge just west of the Brent Spence Bridge. 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. The I-75 deck would be a total of 6 lanes, with 3 lanes each for north and south traffic. 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. Additionally, Cincinnati City Council has expressed interest in using the bridge for a light rail system that would connect downtown Cincinnati to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.