Is another Brent Spence plan in the works?

FRANKFORT – The leading Republican gubernatorial ticket in Kentucky wants to take a whole new look at the Brent Spence Bridge project if elected, examining potential new sites for a bridge, truck bans and a possible tunnel, while asking Ohio to pay more for the estimated $2.6 billion project.

In an exclusive interview with The Enquirer, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, said he and running mate Agriculture Commissioner James Comer are not convinced that a new bridge next to the existing span is the best course of action. He said that a new administration would ask for a level-set review of the project upon entering office, with the possibility of creating a new alignment through Campbell County and eastern Hamilton County.

McDaniel also said that Ohio should pay for at least half of the estimated $2.6 billion cost (right now, Kentucky is estimating to pay $1.5 billion of the project, including the cost of the new bridge itself and rehabbing the existing Brent Spence).

The 51-year-old bridge's conditioning is worsening and it carries more than double the daily traffic it was intended to. The project has been stuck in the planning stages for years, mainly because of a lack of federal funding. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear have said tolls are the only way to get the project done. Northern Kentucky state lawmakers, however, have long rejected tolls, fearing Northern Kentucky commuters would bear most of the costs.

Comer is the GOP's leading candidate for governor heading into May's primary, and last year picked McDaniel as his running mate for lieutenant governor. The ticket raised more money last quarter than their other two major competitors combined.

"We need to see what was the starting point of the conversation regarding the current alignment," McDaniel said at his capitol office last week. "I'm not convinced that everything was considered fairly, and I would like to know why did we end up at the decision that the Brent Spence Bridge needed to be updated, and then having a new bridge built right along side of it. And then we could look at other alternatives as part of that conversation."

In an email responding to questions, Comer agreed, saying that the state needed to "prioritize spending according to the return on investment."

"That includes transportation projects," Comer wrote. "I have to do that with my business and Kentucky taxpayers should expect no less from government."

The stance comes even though state transportation departments and the area's main transportation planning agency have spent nearly $70 million of a total $105 million allocated for project planning through the end of 2014.

The spending covers alignment studies on different locations, including through Boone County and western Hamilton County, as well as tunnels. The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments also has overseen feasibility studies for truck bans, which found they would be ineffective.

"I am very respectful of Sen. McDaniel ... but to say that this alignment has not been vetted properly flies in the face of over a decade's worth of work establishing where the new bridge would go," said OKI executive director Mark Policinski. "The location of the bridge has been well studied and documented."

Debate about development, safety and long-term impact

The current working plan for the bridge includes rehabilitating the existing Brent Spence and routing all local and Interstate 71 traffic along that route – while reducing the number of lanes to three and reinstalling emergency lanes. A new bridge would be built immediately to the west of the existing span, and carry through traffic on Interstate 75. The project has been on the front burner for area officials given the increasing congestion, rising accident rates and the overall national commercial importance of the I-75 corridor.

In addition, The Enquirer found last fall that the overall inspection grades for the existing Brent Spence had dropped significantly over the past several years, after a chunk of a supporting span crushed a parked car underneath.

But McDaniel said that the bridge decision should also include potential impacts on commercial development and that it is a "60-70 year decision, not just for the next three to five years."

"We should be looking to get the biggest bang that we can out of this ... so why not look at going through areas such as Newtown in Ohio?" he asked. "There is less and less developable land through the I-75 corridor. Why not use this as an opportunity to open up more development? It seems as if there was a foregone conclusion that this would be the site without enough examination of other options."

He also said he was also not convinced that a second look would cost the state any more money or time, but said he was sensitive to such concerns.

"But I'm not convinced that it would add more time or money," McDaniel said.

In his email, Comer also said he was "open to any strategic planning that will give Kentucky the most added value."

A Kentucky transportation official said he found the statements "surprising."

"This has been so many years in the making," said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe. "It needs to be noted that congestion is not the only issue in the Brent Spence corridor. It's a safety issue ... the Brent Spence is 50 years old, and does not meet current design standards."

Kasich has been aggressive in pushing for the project, and Ohio has led the planning. The offices of Kasich and the Ohio Department of Transportation sent a joint statement that said only: "We are monitoring the situation and will continue to work with KYTC."

An Enquirer analysis in 2003 found that the Brent Spence had one of the highest accident rates among similar bridges in the nation.

And Policinski said the current planned alignment is the most cost effective, since it won't require new highways to and from a new bridge nor extensive environmental work. He also said a truck ban would be ineffective, as only 17 percent of all traffic on the Brent Spence is just passing through from one outside location to another.

"And we would be putting 23,000 trucks onto roads and bridges that weren't designed for that kind of load," Policinski said.

Funding changes afoot? And what about politics?

As for the funding issue, McDaniel said that Ohio should be paying for at least half the costs of the project. He and Comer also agree that tolls should not be used to fund the project, even though many involved with the project say that is the only way it will get funded – through some sort of public-private partnership not currently allowed by Kentucky statute.

But there are proposals up for debate in the current session of the General Assembly. A bill allowing public-private partnerships on public transportation projects was approved by the Kentucky legislature last year. But a last-minute anti-toll amendment inserted by Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington, led Beshear to veto it at the last minute.

With Kentucky currently on the hook for about $1.5 billion of the total cost, Ohio is expected to pay $1.1 billion for the reconstruction of I-75 in through Queensgate.

"Ohio needs to step up with some (more) ownership of this," McDaniel suggested, with Comer also agreeing in his email.

Both said that the federal government needed to better fund the project, eliminating the need for tolls. In addition, Comer said he agreed with a funding proposal submitted by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would create a new federal fund for emergency transportation projects such as the Brent Spence by making it harder for companies to send capital overseas.

KYTC's Wolfe said Beshear and Kasich are trying to set up a meeting later this month to discuss the bridge. And he said that overall funding levels are "tentative" and that Ohio is already paying for half the cost of the design of the bridge and approaches.

McDaniel also said that he was not concerned about any political fallout from his stance on the project.

"Right now the debate is about toll or no toll, and the issue is much more complex than that," McDaniel said. "A longer-term look is merited. And I hope that people perceive us as radically different than politicians in the past. We aren't afraid of honest conversation."

Enquirer reporter Jason Williams contributed.