CINCINNATI, OH (WOWO) Officials in Ohio and Kentucky have broken ground on the long-planned companion to the Brent Spence Bridge, marking the start of construction on a multibillion-dollar interstate project over the Ohio River.
Officials break ground on companion bridge
Transportation and elected officials gathered Friday to formally begin construction on a second bridge alongside the existing Brent Spence Bridge, which carries Interstate 71 and Interstate 75 between Ohio and Kentucky.
The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) says the existing bridge handles roughly $1 billion in freight traffic daily, in addition to heavy commuter flow across the river corridor.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were among the officials participating in ceremonial shoveling to mark the start of construction.
“We know what has to take place here,” DeWine said. “If you look at the numbers — 160,000 vehicles, 33,000 trucks every single day — a phenomenal amount of traffic is going through here… it is time.”
Funding and bipartisan infrastructure plan
Officials said the project was revived in 2023 after a $1.63 billion federal grant was awarded by the Biden administration as part of a broader bipartisan infrastructure funding package.
McConnell referenced the bipartisan nature of the funding effort, saying, “I actually showed up at a public event in Kentucky with Joe Biden,” McConnell said of the announcement of that grant. “As leader of the opposition in the Senate, that’s not something I routinely did.”
The overall cost of the companion bridge and associated highway corridor improvements is now projected at $4.4 billion, up from an earlier estimate of $3.6 billion. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet attributed the increase in part to a roughly 60% rise in construction costs over the past six years.
Design and traffic details
Project officials unveiled final design plans for the new bridge in June 2025. The companion span will use a cable-supported system similar to the Abraham Lincoln Bridge in Louisville.
According to project plans, the new structure will operate independently from the existing bridge, with no steel connections between the two decks.
Northbound traffic on the new bridge will travel on the upper deck, reversing the configuration of the current Brent Spence Bridge.
Costs, workforce, and economic impact
Officials estimate the project will generate approximately 6 million hours of construction work. Wages for the roughly 700 construction jobs are expected to start at about $30 per hour.
The project is one of the largest infrastructure efforts in the region, with officials citing both traffic capacity and freight movement as central goals.
Community and planning perspectives
Some local and regional groups have raised concerns about the final design and corridor changes, suggesting alternative transportation considerations and different approaches to downtown Cincinnati development.
Those groups have noted that traffic volumes reportedly peaked in 2014 at about 171,000 vehicles per day and have slightly declined since, while OKI projections estimate daily traffic could exceed 217,000 vehicles by 2040.
Timeline and next steps
Construction on the companion bridge is expected to be completed by 2031, with full corridor improvements projected to wrap up by 2033. Work will continue in phases as contractors advance bridge construction and associated interstate upgrades over the coming years.
