A moment decades in the making actually took less time to arrive than initially anticipated.
At about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the boat Florence T pushed a barge carrying the first crane that will be used to construct the long-awaited companion span for the Brent Spence Bridge to a staging site on the Covington side of the Ohio River.
Local officials have discussed a need to address traffic on the bridge since the 1990s. The span carrying I71 and I75 across the Ohio River currently handles double the traffic it was designed for, with an estimated $1 billion in freight daily.
The crane will operate from its 72-by-180-foot barge. Other cranes will later operate on land. At the peak of construction, there will be six such cranes in the air at the site.
Walsh Kokosing River Crossing Segment Manager Will Banik says this first crane will be involved in building temporary structures to be used to build the permanent bridge.
"It'll be engaged in pile-driving at the outset, both mooring piles so we can safely harbor our barges and marine-based equipment at the project," he says. "It will install some temporary works, also install a sheet-piling structure that will serve as a main transit point between land and water, loading materials and equipment and manpower to the water for all that water-based work."
The crane left St. Louis May 26. Transportation officials thought it might take a couple weeks to arrive here, but conditions on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were favorable and the journey took less time.
The spot where the crane stopped will eventually host what officials are calling Pete Rose Pier. Construction work taking place on the Kentucky side of the river will be staged there.
A temporary bridge called a trestle will extend out a couple hundred feet from the Ohio side just east of the Duke Energy substation on Mehring Way. That bridge will help crews construct the bridge supports, which will be well offshore.
The new bridge is expected to open in 2031 with full construction completed by 2033.