A new study says a second bridge is needed to help ease traffic congestion over the Ohio River between northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. The Kentucky Transportation Department released results of the yearlong study on Tuesday, saying a second bridge, in addition to the Brent Spence Bridge, would improve safety and travel in the region.
The Brent Spence was made to handle 80,000 vehicles in 1963, and the addition of a fourth lane in 1985 brought that capacity to 120,000. But data indicates the span had daily traffic of over 185,000 vehicles in 2015.
The proposal from the Brent Spence Strategic Corridor Study recommends using the Brent Spence Bridge to carry northbound Interstate 71 traffic and northbound local traffic and using a new bridge to carry northbound I-75 traffic as well as southbound I-71, I-75 and local traffic.