The tools and materials needed to begin the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project and connect Ohio and Kentucky via a cable-stayed, bi-level, independent-deck span have arrived.
Barges have been arriving in Cincinnati, according to a report from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s newscast The Loop, bringing the first crawler crane for the project, a Manitowoc 2250 lattice boom crawler crane. The barges left St. Louis on May 26, then traveled down the Mississippi River and up the Ohio River.
According to The Loop, locals will begin to see more visible crane activity downstream of the existing Brent Spence Bridge in late summer and early fall. The Ohio Controlling Board authorized the companion bridge’s final construction plans and work earlier this year.
The total estimated price tag on the project has grown from $3.6 billion in mid-2025 to $4.4 billion, to be paid 50/50 by Ohio and Kentucky. Construction alone has been priced at $4.05 billion.
In 2026, crews will be working on the approaches for the new bridge, including the use of barges and cranes to build foundations and pylons. Crews will continue to relocate overhead and underground utilities.
Walsh Kokosing, a joint venture of Walsh Group, Kokosing and AECOM, is the prime contractor. The group will construct the companion bridge west of the existing 60-year-old span, which is carrying double its original traffic capacity of 80,000 vehicles a day.
Powered byThe Brent Spence Bridge, which opened in 1963, is a double-decked truss bridge carrying Interstates 71 and 75 just over 0.3 miles across the Ohio River in both directions. The bridge will be updated to three lanes on each deck with emergency shoulders. Other projects part of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor, which covers eight miles of I-71/I-75, include improvements to the existing bridge, redesigning ramp configurations and new pedestrian and bike paths.
