Published: April 06, 2007 02:27 pm      

Groups unite to bridge the gap

According to a Kentucky report issued in December, the downtown and east-end bridges will cost $3.9 billion and take 17 years to complete. The cost projection represents a $1.44 billion, or 58.5 percent increase, over the previous working projection that had been in place for several years.

The Ohio River Bridges Project Coalition — which includes 14 municipalities and organizations from Indiana and Kentucky — announced its formation Thursday with a written statement. One Southern Indiana, Greater Louisville Inc., the Louisville Downtown Development Corp. and the Regional Leadership Coalition are the group’s lead organizations.

“This is a broad-based coalition that has been forming over the last few months,” said Joe Reagan, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc.

Reagan and Michael Dalby, president of One Southern Indiana, said the problem with the 17-year bridges construction schedule is that it wastes too much money on inflation. Building the bridges more quickly, they say, will save money that would otherwise be spent on increases in labor and materials costs.

The coalition wants local, state and federal officials to consider alternative funding sources for the bridges, to move construction more quickly than the current timeline.

“I think right now nothing is on the table and nothing is off the table,” Reagan said.

“We’ve very open to different types” of funding, Dalby said. “I think that’s something we need to look at very closely.”

One potential funding source that seems to be on the minds of some is tolls.

“It’s on the table, but it’s not a done deal either way, at this point,” said Stuart Perelmuter, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky. Perelmuter said other funding sources that are under consideration include the establishing of tax zones and advertising.

“All of those things really have to be looked at,” Reagan said. “We certainly should not limit our thinking at this point.”

Dalby and U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., are among those who think tolls are a bad idea.

“No,” said Dalby, when asked if tolls should be considered. “There’s lot of different options here.”

“As you well know, Baron is against that,” said Hill spokeswoman Katie Moreau.

“We all have the same goal, to get the projects finished as quickly as possible and to have the highest-quality projects as possible,” said Doug Hogan, a spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Because most of the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky is Kentucky’s property, the Bluegrass State is responsible for $2.77 billion, or about 71 percent, of the project’s price tag. Adding to Kentucky’s costs is work to untangle what is known as Spaghetti Junction, the area near the Kennedy Bridge where Interstates 64, 65 and 71 meet.

Most of Indiana’s costs relate to the construction of approaches to the bridges.

Indiana had already provided considerable funding for its share of the bridges as part of the Indiana Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan, which was released in 2004. Last year, the state’s share of the Ohio River Bridges got a boost when Gov. Mitch Daniels committed $478.5 million in Major Moves funding to the project.

The federal government has committed $80 million, or about 2 percent of construction costs, to the project in excess of money spent for various studies that were conducted in advance of the project.

Hogan said Kentucky is struggling to find money for its share of the bridges, even though some funds were included in the state’s most recent six-year transportation plan.

“Lots of states are finding themselves in similar situations with a limited amount of dollars,” Hogan said. “We don’t say our six-year plan is over-programmed. We feel like all of the projects in it are needed. We feel like it’s underfunded.”

Perelmuter said nontraditional funding — particularly those that include public-private partnerships — is becoming more common among large transportation projects across the country. “That’s how these projects have been most successfully done, of late,” he said.

Hogan said members of the Kentucky General Assembly have asked the state’s transportation officials to find nontraditional ways of paying for the bridges.

“We’re providing them with as much information as possible,” he said.

Dalby and Reagan said in the coming months, the Ohio River Bridges Project Coalition will work to educate residents, business leaders and public officials in both states of the economic and quality of life significance of the bridges.

Dalby said he hopes the coalition’s membership will expand to include representation from areas such as Columbus.

“This project, really, goes beyond metro Louisville,” he said.

Bowling Green and Elizabethtown, Ky. — like Jeffersonville — have already signed on as coalition members.

“This is about the two states; the commerce and quality of life between them,” Reagan said.

Dalby declined to estimate how much time might be cut from construction if the bridges are funded aggressively. But Reagan believes the time saved could be significant.

“It might be seven to 10 years you could take off the schedule with the right solutions,” Reagan said.

The downtown bridge will sit immediately east of the Kennedy Bridge and will carry northbound I-65 traffic into Indiana. Once the bridge is built, the Kennedy Bridge will handle only southbound traffic.

The East End Bridge will join I-265/Ind. 265 near Utica with Ky. 841 near Prospect, Ky.



What does the Ohio River Bridges Project Coalition want?

• It wants the Kentucky General Assembly to approve an expedited funding schedule for the Ohio River Bridges, cutting years off the current 17-year construction schedule and reducing the $3.9 billion cost estimate.

• It wants to seek alternative funding sources to help put money for bridge construction in place more quickly. Through Major Moves, Indiana has already secured alternative funding for much of its portion of the bridges project.

• To increase the coalition’s size, adding members from Indiana and Kentucky outside the Louisville metropolitan area, to demonstrate the economic importance of the Ohio River Bridges to state and federal officials from both states.



Project costs

In December, the Ohio River Bridges Project Long-Term Planning Report projected that building downtown and east-end bridges would cost $3.9 billion, a $1.44 billion, or 58.5 percent, increase from the previous working estimate of $2.46 billion. Among the report’s findings:

• Indiana’s share of the bridges project has increased from a projected $790 million to $1.13 billion, while Kentucky’s share has jumped from $1.67 billion to $2.77 billion.

• The increased projected costs are based, in part, on the costs of concrete, steel and fuel.

• Construction on the east-end bridge should begin in 2009 and conclude in 2013.

• Downtown bridge construction should run from 2014 to 2019.

• Downtown Louisville desperately needs a “relief valve” to the east.

• The downtown Ohio River crossing must be modernized.

• Spaghetti Junction must be fixed.

• The situation will worsen as the years pass.

• The future economy of the Louisville metro area, and arguably of Kentucky, hangs in the balance.

— Ohio River Bridges Project Long-Term Planning Report



Ohio River Bridges Project Coalition

On Thursday the Ohio River Bridges Project Coalition announced its formation, and its intent to encourage the construction of the Ohio River Bridges more quickly than the announced 17-year project schedule. The coalition’s members include:

• African-American Business Alliance

• Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana Inc.

• City of Bowling Green

• City of Elizabethtown

• City of Jeffersonville

• Greater Louisville Building and Construction Trades Council

• Greater Louisville Inc.

• Greater Louisville Logistics Network

• Hispanic-Latino Business Council

• Louisville Downtown Development Corp.

• Louisville Metro Government

• National Association of Women Business Owners

• One Southern Indiana

• Regional Leadership Coalition



On the Web

• Ohio River Bridges

www.kyinbridges.com



• Greater Louisville Inc.

www.greaterlouisville.com



• One Southern Indiana

www.1si.org