Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:

Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works

Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard

Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory

Description:

The Brent Spence Bridge (BSB) corridor consists of 7.8 total miles of I-71 and I-75 located within portions of Ohio and Kentucky. The project corridor primarily utilizes the existing I-71/I-75 alignment from the southern project limits at Dixie Highway and to the north to Kyles Lane.

This corridor is located within the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region and is a major route for regional and local mobility.  Regionally, the BSB carries both I-71 and I-75 traffic over the Ohio River and connects to I-74, I-275, and US-50. The corridor is also one of the busiest trucking routes in the United States, connecting Michigan to Florida via I-75. The BSB corridor also facilitates local travel by providing access to downtown Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio and Covington in Kenton County, Kentucky. 

Safety, congestion, and geometric problems exist on the structure and its approaches.  The Brent Spence Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1963, was designed to carry 80,000 vehicles per day.  Currently, approximately 160,000 vehicles per day use the Brent Spence Bridge and traffic volumes are projected to increase to approximately 233,000 vehicles per day in 2035.