Ohio River Bridges: Will they ever be?

November 22, 2008 07:47 pm

— Amanda Bowyer believes the proposed Ohio River bridges will probably happen someday, but not anytime soon.
“It seemed to be moving for a while there — then nothing,” she said.
Bob Brewer goes out on a limb when he answers the question: Will the Ohio River bridges ever be built?
“I would venture to say, yes — that they will be eventually.
“If they’re not, then it will be bumper to bumper from Indianapolis to Lexington.”
Shannon Landes believes it depends on who is in office and how fast they want to get them built.
And Wayne Madison believes it shouldn’t have taken this long to begin with.
Bowyer, Brewer, Landes and Madison hold no sway over when the long-discussed project will ever get finished. They’re members of the driving public that have followed along as the bridges saga has developed over the last few decades.
The Ohio River Bridges Project — a joint effort between the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Federal Highway Administration — seeks to construct two bridges over the Ohio River between the two states.
The first bridge would be constructed on Louisville’s east end, connecting to Utica. Another bridge would connect the downtowns in Louisville and Jeffersonville, right beside the Kennedy Bridge. And downtown Louisville’s Spaghetti Junction — where Interstates 65, 64 and 71 meet — would be realigned as a part of the project.
It’s been officially in the works for five years, but talk of building an East End bridge goes back decades.
“My opinion is I don’t think it should take 20 years to build a bridge,” said Wayne Madison.
“They’re supposed to be professional about this.”

CHANGING PUBLIC OPINION
Reversing years of frustration over the lack of an East End bridge — especially among Hoosiers — is something that those involved with the project have been trying to accomplish.
“Everything is feasible,” said Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan, adding that being optimistic about it will help.
Despite those with doubts, he believes the project will be completed in his lifetime.
“I hope so. If not, I’ll have them dig me up and drive me across them. I’ve been hearing about them my whole life.”
Turning that sentiment into action is a challenge for the Build the Bridges Coalition, a group dedicated to the completion of the project.
“We really think it’s time to encourage people to get behind it,” said Kay Stewart, executive director of the coalition.
She believes that frustration can be channeled into a positive message for those in a position to make the project happen.
“We’re continuing to work to draw attention to the need and the benefits.”

PRICE AND THE LATEST DELAY
Since the Federal Highway Administration’s 2003 decision to go forward with the work, the price tag has been the major hurdle.
The most recent estimate of costs was $4.1 billion. Kentucky would pay $2.9 billion, and Indiana would pay $1.15 billion.
However, that cost estimate could change within the next month or so.
Officials in both states asked the highway administration for more time to put together an update on the project’s finance plan.
Information about whether or not there will be an increase in costs has not been released, said Chuck Wolfe, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman.
However, for the last three years, construction costs have risen on nearly all projects.
“It’s a fact of life,” he said.
Financing isn’t as much of a problem in Indiana because of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ Major Moves program, which leased the Northern Indiana Toll Road for $3.8 billion. A portion of that money has already been earmarked for the bridges project.
In Kentucky, there is far less certainty regarding how to pay for it.

TOLLS GET MIXED REVIEWS
Tolling — not just on the new bridges, but on all crossings between Louisville and Indiana — was discussed during the Kentucky General Assembly’s session earlier this year. That body will reconvene in January and the idea is expected to be discussed again as a way in which Kentucky can afford to move forward.
It has support.
For one, the Build the Bridges Coalition sees it as a viable way to make the project a reality.
“We feel like there is a strong base of support there,” Stewart said.
And Galligan is among a host of other Indiana officials who have said they would not be opposed to it.
Rep. Baron Hill, D-Seymour, has been one of the only key public officials to speak against it.
“I have never liked the idea for tolls,” Hill said in an interview last week. “Hoosiers will be paying for more of a tax on it.”
Hill believes that adding tolls would require an environmental impact study to be opened, and “push construction of those bridges back several years.”
He said he’s proposed a plan to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear for funding the project without tolls.
“I sent the governor a financial plan of my own and in a short period of time, I plan to release it to the public.”

ECONOMIC FACTORS
Down economic conditions facing the country could play a couple of roles.
Wolfe said the economy is a general concern for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet because its money is dependent on gasoline taxes.
When prices spiked around $4 per gallon last summer, drivers consumed less, he said. But now that the prices are way down, it means that gasoline tax revenue will take a hit.
As a result of both, Kentucky’s available road money is down.
“And we expect a further decrease,” he said.
Stewart says that the down economy furthers the argument for building the bridge.
“The argument for this project moving forward is stronger than ever,” she said. “It can provide jobs and long-term growth.”
Congressional leaders, as well as President-elect Barack Obama, have talked of an economic stimulus package that would inject money into public works projects.
However, there’s been no indication of how or which projects would be funded if such legislation passed next year.
“I think there’s potential for it,” Hill said, when asked about the Ohio River Bridges Project being funded with a stimulus package.
“I don’t know exactly what all of that will look like until I see it in print.”

— Staff Writer Daniel Suddeath contributed to this story.

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