Kasich, Beshear to unveil changes to Brent Spence plan

The governors of Kentucky and Ohio are expected to make a major announcement this week on the Brent Spence Bridge – discussing potential toll discounts for local motorists and some cost-cutting measures planned for the megaproject, The Enquirer learned Monday night.

Kentucky's Steve Beshear and Ohio's John Kasich also are expected to announce that the states are going to equally share the cost of the $2.6 billion project during a joint press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Covington.

The press conference could be one of the last major public announcements the governors make together in their years-long effort to fast-track construction of the Ohio River bridge replacement and interstate-corridor overhaul.

Beshear will be term-limited out of office at the end of this year, and Kentucky's next governor might let the project go dormant if the General Assembly doesn't make any progress toward paying for the new bridge this year.

Some of the topics the governors are expected to discuss:

• Frequent bridge commuters could receive a 50 percent discount on tolls with the use of an in-vehicle electronic transponder. State transportation officials already have said tolls could be as low as $1 one way for frequent bridge commuters. Official toll rates, however, most likely would not be known until a finance plan is in place and construction is underway. It still has yet to be defined who would be considered a "frequent user."

• The governors are expected to discuss changes to the bookends of the project – near the Western Hills Viaduct interchange in Ohio and the Kyles Lane interchange in Kentucky – that could reduce the overall cost.

• Ohio will pick up more of the project costs and go 50/50 with Kentucky. Current estimates have Kentucky paying slightly more, mostly because it owns the double-decked bridge crossing. Kentucky currently is slated to pay $1.3 billion in construction costs; Ohio is on the hook for $1 billion, according to a joint study by the states. The states are nearly splitting the other costs, such as planning.

The governors last came together publicly on the Brent Spence Bridge in December 2012, when they signed an agreement committing to work hand-in-hand to get the project done. They've met privately several times to discuss the project since Kasich took office in 2011.

"Their meeting this week is really just a continuation of all the hard work that's already been invested in this project," said Chuck Wolfe, spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

As owner of the bridge, Kentucky has the final say on the project. Beshear and Kasich have long said tolls are the only way to get the project done because of the lagging federal gas tax and ban on project earmarks in Washington.

A bill that would allow bridge and highway projects to be built through a public-private partnership is expected to be introduced in the current session of the Kentucky General Assembly. But Northern Kentucky state lawmakers are against such a partnership, fearing it would lead to tolling the Brent Spence. They say Kentucky commuters would bear more of the burden of tolls, because most of the region's jobs are in Ohio.

Ohio has passed all the necessary laws to allow for tolling the project.

The anti-toll group Northern Kentucky United has been aggressively lobbying to keep tolls from paying for the project. But toll opponents have not presented a viable alternative to replacing an aging bridge.

Conversely, the big-business-backed Build Our New Bridge Now coalition has been aggressively lobbying to get the bridge built by using tolls. Group leaders say growing congestion and safety concerns could hurt the region's ability to grow and retain jobs.

Meanwhile, the 51-year-old Brent Spence Bridge's condition is worsening. An Enquirer analysis last fall of 10 years of inspection reports showed the Interstate 71/75 bridge's overall scores have been declining.

The Brent Spence Bridge, part of the nation's busiest freight corridor, also is functionally obsolete because of its narrow lanes, limited visibility on the lower deck and lack of emergency shoulders. The bridge carries about 160,000 vehicles a day – double the amount of traffic it was built to hold.