People Over Pavement

Due to the Infrastructure Law passed as a stimulus to the COVID-19 Pandemic, ODOT and KYTC received a $1.3B grant from the federal government. The intended purpose of the grant is to significantly widen the I-75 corridor eight miles through Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati using a plan that is over 20 years old. The latest cost estimate of the project is $3.8B, roughly equivalent to ODOT's annual budget for the State of Ohio. The residents of Ohio and Kentucky will pay for the remaining cost of the expansion.

"We could continue to build lanes on 75 but they would fill because of the nature of the traffic network in the region.” -  Stefan Spinosa ODOT’s Brent Spence project manager 

"No transportation project in Covington history has had or will have more impact than the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project, This is a project that will affect our community for the next 50 to 75 years and it is really time for people to take this seriously." -  Covington Mayor Joe Meyer 

ODOT is proposing a standard highway widening project approximately 8 miles in length and will increase the highway footprint crossing the Ohio River from 42' to 126'. The Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development (CTSD) proposal is to redirect the funds for transit including additional bus routes with 10 - 15 minute headways, two or more light rail lines, and upgrading thousands of streets with countermeasures to improve safety for all road users especially the most vulnerable, people walking and people using mobility devices.

In December 2022, the CTSD was formed in response to ODOT's outdated and inequitable design. Founding members of the Coalition include non-profits, doctors, faith-based groups, community councils, city council members, and other citizens, all in the immediate project area.

The Coalition is asking public officials through a public petition campaign to redirect the funding to sustainable transit such as buses, light rail, walking, and infrastructure for people using mobility devices. Based on projected cost estimates in Austin, TX, upwards of 38 miles of light rail could be built with this funding.

The Coalition has engaged with the FHWA Title VI office through an open letter on environmental justice concerns due to increased air, water, and sound pollution the BIPOC residents in the project will suffer. Notably, upwards of 50% of those residents are zero-car households. Those that sacrifice the most due to the freeway expansion project will have the least to gain.

To date, the FHWA Title VI Office has opened a preliminary investigation and the FHWA Planning, Environment and Realty Team has confirmed they will investigate the concerns that were discussed in the letter and ensure they are considered prior to making a NEPA determination. 

“The ($3.8B) Brent Spence Corridor project, which is essentially a standard highway-widening endeavor, simply repeats the errors of Cincinnati’s past, misallocating billions of dollars in regional infrastructure investment while exacerbating urban congestion and frustrating attempts to repopulate the disinvested urban core. It’s time for Cincinnati to Do the Math and stop worshipping at the altar of the Infrastructure Cult.” - Dr. Ryan Crane, Strong Towns

“The creation of the Interstate Highway System, disproportionately burdened many historically Black and low-income neighborhoods in many American cities. Many urban interstate highways were deliberately built to pass through Black neighborhoods, often requiring the destruction of housing and other local institutions.  To this day, many Black neighborhoods are disconnected from access to high-quality housing, jobs, public transit, and other resources. -  Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States 

Cincinnati's road transportation network is responsible for 32% of our climate changing carbon emissions.

“Since 2006 Cincinnati has achieved ~36% carbon reduction. However, the transportation sector is not seeing the decarbonization progress we have in other sectors.” - Ollie Kroner, Sustainability Director, City of Cincinnati

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber is worried that new federal regulations aimed at reducing smog in Cincinnati and across the nation will hinder transportation projects, including the Brent Spence Bridge. - Cincinnati Business Courier, " Will new ozone rules hamper the Brent Spence Bridge project?" 

"Research findings indicate that roadways generally influence air quality within a few hundred meters – about 500-600 feet downwind from the vicinity of heavily traveled roadways or along corridors with significant trucking traffic or rail activities." -  US EPA 

"Wheezing, night cough and allergic rhinitis in infants residing in proximity to major roads and stop-and-go traffic was linked to exposure to elemental carbon attributable to traffic, which served as a marker for diesel exhaust particles." -  Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study 

"Disadvantaged neighborhoods, usually populated with Black and LatinX residents, have been on the frontlines of pollution for generations." - Janet McCabe, EPA Deputy Administrator during a visit to Lower Price Hill, Cincinnati

Future traffic projections continue to show unabated growth in stark contrast with lower car ownership especially among younger generations.

When asked by The Cincinnati Business Journal about the dramatic reduction in 2015, OKI responded: “The likely reason for the reduction (on the Brent Spence) between 2013 and 2015 is due to the construction on I-75 north of the bridge that began in 2011.” -  Lorrie Platt, OKI 

“On urban commuter expressways, peak-hour traffic congestion rises to meet maximum capacity.” -  Economist Anthony Downs, Iron Law of Congestion, 1962 

The Federal Highway Administration  ranked  the I-75 Brent Spence Corridor 45th in the USA for congestion in 2019. Since Covid and the changes in working from home have reduced congestion even further with the flattening of peak rush hour. The bridge is now rarely congested.

Peak commute time has long ruled our lives, our cities, our tax dollars. But it doesn’t have to.

The North South Transportation Plan includes both freeway expansion and commuter rail. ODOT is choosing to execute the Brent Spence Corridor freeway widening plan instead of the plan for commuter rail.

 The North South Transportation Initiative  is a comprehensive evaluation of the transportation needs within the major north/south transportation artery that spans nearly 100 miles from Northern Kentucky, through Cincinnati and Dayton to the Miami County line. -OKI

Across the nation people are coming together under a broad coalition of public and private sector leaders, community activists, and multidisciplinary professionals. Dedicated to championing design, equity, and policy principles that center people before highways. Freeway Fighters is powered by  America Walks  and the  Congress for the New Urbanism .

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