Kentucky-Cincinnati Connection Will Give Commuters a Summer-Long Headache

Cameron McWhirtle and Shane Shifflett report:

The Brent Spence Bridge that connects Cincinnati to northern Kentucky is often notoriously jammed with miles-long backups. Now, for two months this summer the eight-lane bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River will be down to half that many lanes as it undergoes repairs.

But that's not the worst part of the story, according to the article.

This summer’s repairs on the Brent Spence cost $38 million for repaving, updating lighting and other improvements. But it won’t solve the problem that has had Kentucky and Ohio lawmakers at loggerheads for years: how to pay for a major overhaul of the double-decker span that carries as many as 180,000 vehicles a day, including an estimated $1 billion worth of freight daily, according to the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

In addition to providing more details about the project, the article places the challenges of the Brent Spence Bridge in context of the nationwide trend of crumbling infrastructure, as evidenced by the state of the nation's bridges.