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When the Brent Spence Bridge opened in 1963, the span was equipped to handle 80,000 vehicles a day. By 1988, Kentucky highway officials recognized the need for more capacity and removed the breakdown lanes, expanding the bridge to four lanes on each of its two decks.
But nearly 150,000 vehicles a day now pass over the bridge, which takes Interstate 75 and Interstate 71 across the Ohio River. And commuters know all too well that just one breakdown, accident or stall can snarl traffic for miles. More than that, congestion on the bridge can impact businesses well beyond the Tri-State-from Florida to Michigan-because of the tens of thousands of trucks that transport goods each day along the I-75 and I-71 corridors.
So, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce decided to lead the charge to fix the bridge, which is owned and maintained by the state of Kentucky.
Nearly 70 volunteers from the Northern Kentucky Chamber head to Washington, D.C., next month to lobby lawmakers for a special $550 million funding designation for the Brent Spence project in the new six-year transportation funding legislation. The money would cover the cost of fixing the bridge, either by expanding it or building a whole new bridge nearby.
It's a big request at a time when the federal government is spending loads of money on the war on terrorism and staring at a growing deficit.