Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray says there could be a groundbreaking ceremony for the Brent Spence companion bridge by the end of 2025. The $3.6 billion project is currently in the design phase.
Work is moving forward despite recent concerns about funding.
Questions briefly arose last week after President Trump issued an executive order to halt disbursement of all funds under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. The federal Office of Management and Budget quickly moved to offer some clarity, stating that only applies to funds supporting programs, projects, or activities involving the Green New Deal.
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"Both Gov. DeWine and Gov. Beshear have praised that encouragement that President Trump gave before for the Brent Spence," Gray said after speaking at the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) annual luncheon Tuesday. "This is a project of national significance in terms of the economy in every way. I think what we do is let the dust settle and we'll move on."
That's in line with statements to WVXU last week from the Ohio Department of Transportation and Ky. Gov. Andy Beshear's office stating that both states considered the project unaffected by Trump's executive order.
The Brent Spence carries more than $1 billion in freight daily. The project is slated to receive $1.6 billion from the bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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"[The] current status of the project [is] we are beyond 30% in engineering and design. That's a really good point, a good milestone. We're working with the contractors and the engineers on both the design and the cost — the estimated cost of the project. In fact, there are meetings being held as we speak today. This is routine."
