^ My mistake, apparently a truck ban was considered in 2002 but currently trucks are only required to slow down to 40 MPH in the tunnel. According to Wikipedia, "A CB radio broadcast on channel 19, the most commonly used commercial trucking frequency, loops a warning about this turn and its hazards 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Thank goodness!  I was pretty sure I'd seen semis in the tunnel and thought I might be going crazy. 

^ My mistake, apparently a truck ban was considered in 2002 but currently trucks are only required to slow down to 40 MPH in the tunnel. According to Wikipedia, "A CB radio broadcast on channel 19, the most commonly used commercial trucking frequency, loops a warning about this turn and its hazards 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

 

Sadly the CB as a form of communication has kinda died off even among truckers.

Thank goodness!  I was pretty sure I'd seen semis in the tunnel and thought I might be going crazy.

 

Yeah, they're there - often two or three abreast and then slowing waaaaay down as they climb through to Taft...

 

Or maybe OKI is using the same travel demand simulator as Cities: Skylines?

 

 

Just want you to know that I never heard of this game before you mentioned it. I've since looked it up, purchased it, and have been playing it (semi) non-stop. But yeah, the traffic simulator is killing me. Need to look up some strategy.

Todd Portune has stated he believes there will be funding for the Brent Spence Bridge in the next federal transportation bill. The question is, will it be enough to actually get construction started? And will the remainder of the funding come from tolls?

Todd Portune has stated he believes there will be funding for the Brent Spence Bridge in the next federal transportation bill. The question is, will it be enough to actually get construction started? And will the remainder of the funding come from tolls?

 

 

Yeah, just like when he said there was funding to build the Oasis commuter line in time for the All-Star Game. 

Bevin the next Kentucky governor

 

The election also has importance for the  proposed $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge project. Bevin's election make tolls on the bridge even less likely, said Boone County Republican and county clerk Kenny Brown. [...]

 

Bevin opposes tolls and has advocated that the Eastern Bypass proposal should get a second look.

Sigh. I've never understood how some Republicans are against tolls.  Isn't it conservative mantra to be for direct payment and against subsidization?

They think driving should be free.

According to the Biz Courier, the most congested part of the local interstate system is NOT the Brent Spence. That honor is reserved for the meeting point of 71 and 75 in KY, and the meeting of 75 and 74 in Camp Washington.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2015/11/these-cincinnati-interstates-are-among-the-nation.html

^ Actually, it is the BSB. If you open the report, you can see that they're referring to the 71-75 interchange in OH, not in KY.

They have an interesting methodology. If you had 100 trucks averaging 54 mph on one stretch of roadway they would consider that more congested than a stretch of roadway were only 10 trucks were observed going 47 mph

Those averages, above 40 mph, sound fine to me.

 

Also is this during the current construction?

According to the Biz Courier, the most congested part of the local interstate system is NOT the Brent Spence. That honor is reserved for the meeting point of 71 and 75 in KY, and the meeting of 75 and 74 in Camp Washington.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2015/11/these-cincinnati-interstates-are-among-the-nation.html

 

 

A detail that has been missed by the public is that the northbound ramps from Hopple to I-75 and I-74 will separate *before* either merges with their respective interstate.  So not only will that whole situation with people skipping over two lanes from the old Bates Ave. on-ramp will disappear, the merge with I-74 and I-75 will be north of the system interchange.  It's going to be a huge improvement irrespective of any widening of the interstate itself. 

 

 

^ Actually, it is the BSB. If you open the report, you can see that they're referring to the 71-75 interchange in OH, not in KY.

 

Thanks for the clarification. my mistake.

Everyone should be embarrassed doing this project. Louisville Completed their bridges and tunnel a month ago.

If this were a rail project, people would call for cancelling just because of this lack of progress.

Everyone should be embarrassed doing this project. Louisville Completed their bridges and tunnel a month ago.

 

...with tolls.

If this were a rail project, people would call for cancelling just because of this lack of progress.

 

I'm still calling for a cancellation of this project because it's completely unnecessary and does nothing to solve the problem. I really hope the anti-toll group draws this out until it dies.

If this were a rail project, people would call for cancelling just because of this lack of progress.

 

I'm still calling for a cancellation of this project because it's completely unnecessary and does nothing to solve the problem. I really hope the anti-toll group draws this out until it dies.

 

Problem is, those same groups advocate for the Eastern Boondoggle-pass.

^ I don't believe there is any true public support for the Eastern Bypass idea. The only editorials we have seen in favor of it were from suburban home developers and their close buddies. Even if the idea did gain some traction, when ODOT and KTC come back and say, "ok, it'll cost $5 billion to build" we'd be in for another 15 year battle about how to pay for it. And that project likely couldn't happen without tolls either.

Everyone should be embarrassed doing this project. Louisville Completed their bridges and tunnel a month ago.

I think thats part of the problem though isn't it? Kentucky isn't a big or wealthy state and is already paying for and constructing two major bridge projects (and it owns majority of the river/bridge). The other factor being that Louisville is actually IN Kentucky and Cincinnati is not, so Kentucky doesn't want to spend their money on it.

^ I don't believe there is any true public support for the Eastern Bypass idea. The only editorials we have seen in favor of it were from suburban home developers and their close buddies. Even if the idea did gain some traction, when ODOT and KTC come back and say, "ok, it'll cost $5 billion to build" we'd be in for another 15 year battle about how to pay for it. And that project likely couldn't happen without tolls either.

 

We'll see people like Steven Frank who are "anti-tolls" and "anti private-public partnerships" suddenly change their tune when it comes time to assemble financing for the eastern bypass. 

 

I think part of the scam with the eastern bypass is that they  have no real intention of getting it built into Ohio.  They just want KY to build the NKY part, which will encourage sprawl development of Campbell County.  Right now US 27 has pretty poor access to I-275 and I-71/75. 

 

 

 

 

^ I don't believe there is any true public support for the Eastern Bypass idea. The only editorials we have seen in favor of it were from suburban home developers and their close buddies. Even if the idea did gain some traction, when ODOT and KTC come back and say, "ok, it'll cost $5 billion to build" we'd be in for another 15 year battle about how to pay for it. And that project likely couldn't happen without tolls either.

 

We'll see people like Steven Frank who are "anti-tolls" and "anti private-public partnerships" suddenly change their tune when it comes time to assemble financing for the eastern bypass. 

 

I think part of the scam with the eastern bypass is that they  have no real intention of getting it built into Ohio.  They just want KY to build the NKY part, which will encourage sprawl development of Campbell County.  Right now US 27 has pretty poor access to I-275 and I-71/75. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eastern Bypass' website has a 'page cannot be found' prompt if you try to visit the map

 

http://cincyeasternbypass.com/#sample-page-2

I have no idea where they get these people from on 700 WLW.  I'm not sure if  they are true or not, but this guy said tolls will be $4 each way across the bridge.

breakroom speculators

I have no idea where they get these people from on 700 WLW.  I'm not sure if  they are true or not, but this guy said tolls will be $4 each way across the bridge.

 

It was Steven Frank, Covington city councilman.  The guy is actually insane.  He's one of those super reckless sales/finance types of guys who can't stop admiring himself.  They take huge risks, lose large amounts of other people's money, yet they keep managing to find new people who trust them. 

 

He has re-written the Brent Spence Bridge story with all sorts of made-up facts.  He's filling the public's ear with a mountain of rubbish as ridiculous as that of the pro-bridge people.

I have no idea where they get these people from on 700 WLW.  I'm not sure if  they are true or not, but this guy said tolls will be $4 each way across the bridge.

 

jesus - the tolls here in Norfolk, VA to pass through the TUNNELS below the Elizabeth River are only $1.25 each way. $4 has no basis in any reality.

What are the plans for the maintenance for the Brent Spence Bridge? I seem to recall some funding being set aside by Kentucky in their last budget, but I could be mis-remembering. It badly needs painting, concrete repair, and repair of downspouts to control overflow water. You can see the salt running down over the exposed, rusting rebar. Looks truly dangerous, and every time it rains this becomes more compromised. Chunks of concrete frequently fall off this part of the bridge.

 

The situation is ridiculous. Kentucky intentionally stopped its regular maintenance schedule because they believed that the cost of an overhaul was going to be rolled into the expense of the bridge project.  They stopped painting it to make it look rustier and more in need of replacement. 

I think Bevin recently said that he was in favor of providing more funding for maintenance of the existing bridge, but I don't know the details.

 

I'm still calling for a cancellation of this project because it's completely unnecessary and does nothing to solve the problem. I really hope the anti-toll group draws this out until it dies.

 

Problem is, those same groups advocate for the Eastern Boondoggle-pass.

 

Which will never get funded so I'm not worried.

I think Bevin recently said that he was in favor of providing more funding for maintenance of the existing bridge, but I don't know the details.

 

Correct.  Allegedly he requested $$ for painting in the next budget. I completely agree that with $30 million in work on the entire span and approaches (which is really not a lot of money) this thing will be structurally fine for years.  I support tolls, but I STRONGLY opposed this crazy project to build a new supersized bridge adjacent to this one,

Here is the latest article (from Jan 26) that I could find on the topic: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/01/26/bevin-wants-paint-brent-spence/79295354/

 

Kentucky's new Republican governor proposed $38 million to paint and repair the Brent Spence Bridge and pay for engineering studies to improve the traffic flow.

...

He has found money to maintain roads and bridges. The $2.6 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement project will take years or decades to pay for and build, Bevin said. The state needs to look at what it can do now, he said.

 

“In the meantime, we still have traffic flow problems,” Bevin said. “In the meantime, we still have safety problems. In the meantime, we still have a bridge that looks terrible. So we’re going to take care of that. We’re going to study what we can do to alleviate some of that angst.”

 

This is just a proposal. The General Assembly over the next three months will hash out a final budget, which the governor can line-item veto and sign into law.

I think Bevin recently said that he was in favor of providing more funding for maintenance of the existing bridge, but I don't know the details.

 

Correct.  Allegedly he requested $$ for painting in the next budget. I completely agree that with $30 million in work on the entire span and approaches (which is really not a lot of money) this thing will be structurally fine for years.  I support tolls, but I STRONGLY opposed this crazy project to build a new supersized bridge adjacent to this one,

The bridge itself is about 700m, it's everything else leading up to it that skyrockets the price.

^Perfect reason why we should just do a replacement bridge next to it, rework the ramps, and demolish the existing one instead of the massively over-engineered version we currently see.

They need to separate I-71 from I-75. If it's cheaper to split it  in Walton with a new highway to I-471 then do it.

I don't think anything needs to be changed at all.  But if something must be done, it would be relatively easy to create a bypass of the bridge and the interchanges from the top of the hill to the vicinity of the Western Hills Viaduct that would be I-75 only and have no local exits. Unfortunately ODOT's current reconstruction of I-75 made no provision for this, and so it wouldn't be possible to continue such a bypass all the way past the I-74/75 interchange. 

 

Alternatively, the existing piers could be widened and the bridge taken out and replaced with a wider setup that enables separation of I-75 and I-71 south of the bridge.  I'm unconvinced that an 18-month closure of the bridge would cause a serious problem given the presence of no less than 3 other interstate highway bridges, three free local bridges, and a ferry.  Fort Washington Way westbound was closed for six months but nobody seems to remember. 

^I'm just trying to fully wrap my head around your suggestion Jake... Are you saying "build a set of express lanes from I-74, over a new bridge, and up the hill"? Or are you suggesting a different bypass that crosses the river further west?

^I'm just trying to fully wrap my head around your suggestion Jake... Are you saying "build a set of express lanes from I-74, over a new bridge, and up the hill"? Or are you suggesting a different bypass that crosses the river further west?

 

I think he's suggesting creating I-75 express lanes from the Western Hills Viaduct to the top of the Cut in the Hill which would use a new bridge, while all I-75 and I-71 local traffic would use the current highway and bridge.

I don't think it's hard to picture a small new bridge with approaches built over the mess pictured here that would join I-75 at some point south and some point north of the bridge.

 

Even a pretty short project from Covington at 12th St. to Ezzard Charles in Cincinnati would enable traffic to keep moving instead of stopping completely when the bridge is congested, and there's no way that it would cost even half what is currently under study. 

  ^ Gawd, how awful - a spoonful of spaghetti tossed onto a plate would be more organized and aesthetically appealing than this mess!

  ^ Gawd, how awful - a spoonful of spaghetti tossed onto a plate would be more organized and aesthetically appealing than this mess!

 

Even more awful once you consider that everything in this picture used to look like over-the-rhine. we've done a really good job of forgetting that this mess wasn't built on a greenfield, but rests on the homes and businesses of previous generations.

  ^ Gawd, how awful - a spoonful of spaghetti tossed onto a plate would be more organized and aesthetically appealing than this mess!

 

Even more awful once you consider that everything in this picture used to look like over-the-rhine. we've done a really good job of forgetting that this mess wasn't built on a greenfield, but rests on the homes and businesses of previous generations.

 

Even worse when you realize those buildings represented wealth concentrated in our city. Even buildings in a quote dilapidated state can be put to productive economic use. And they were cleared to make way for a something that systematically transfers wealth out of our city and region to elsewhere (gas money being just the most obvious.)

The scary thing is, the rebuilt 71/75 interchange is actually proposed to be maybe a half block narrower than the one that's currently there if you look closely at the renderings. They squished some of the ramps tighter together and there is a bit more room on the Central Avenue side of the spaghetti bowl.

I recently heard that ODOT went through a ton of extra effort to save the former DunnhumbyUSA building from being torn down for this project. (If I recall, their original alternative had a ramp going through that building, but then they added a second alternative that wrapped the ramp around the building, and we ultimately selected that second alternative.) But now the 84.51 portion of company has moved to their new building downtown and the Dunnhumby portion of the company moved out as well. So this decision (any maybe other decisions) were made based on factors that are no longer relevant. That's why I think the best thing that can happen is for this project to stall out and everyone to go back to the drawing board.

I feel like they could probably make the interchange even less space-consuming with a better redesign of it. I think direct connections to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge would be hugely beneficial, so that one could head north over the Bailey and get on 75 at the other end and vice versa. This would relieve a lot of traffic from the horrible 4th street BSB ramp in Covington.

 

They really should have designed I-75 to run west of the rail yard south of the Western Hills Viaduct and had it cross the river at Ludlow KY. Politics of course left us with this much more difficult stretch of road.

My preference is a double-decked S curve that goes over W 3rd and Freeman to reconnect just south of Ezzard Charles.

I feel like they could probably make the interchange even less space-consuming with a better redesign of it. I think direct connections to the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge would be hugely beneficial, so that one could head north over the Bailey and get on 75 at the other end and vice versa. This would relieve a lot of traffic from the horrible 4th street BSB ramp in Covington.

 

They really should have designed I-75 to run west of the rail yard south of the Western Hills Viaduct and had it cross the river at Ludlow KY. Politics of course left us with this much more difficult stretch of road.

 

 

Yeah, they could obviously turn the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge into an entrance/exit ramp from I-75 in Cincinnati.  But I bet it's Cincinnati interests that are blocking that since it will increase the value of the Covington riverfront.

 

Steven Frank is correct in asserting that the proposed Brent Spence Bridge project is bad for Covington, but it's not because of the tolls.  It's because Cincinnati's power brokers are acting to permanently diminish access to Covington's riverfront area.  It's the same reason why there is movement on combining Metro and TANK or building a new transit-only bridge to directly link the two cities near the IRS building.