Another day, another milestone for the new bridge coming over the Ohio River.
The Florence T tugboat had a starring role on June 2, as it moved the first of six newly-arrived barges to a new construction staging area on the Kentucky side of the river near Covington.
“This is really kind of the true start,” said Will Banik, river crossing project manager for the lead project contractor, Walsh Kokosing Design-Build Team.
Here’s the latest on one of the nation’s largest and most important infrastructure projects.
Five barges await trip to Covington
There have already been a number of firsts for the giant $4 billion-plus bridge project: securing millions of dollars, clocking millions hour of design work, completing dozens of on-the-ground pre-construction tasks and, on May 8, staging an official groundbreaking for the new bridge installation.
Beginning last week, a tugboat named the Elizabeth Ann left St. Louis, pushing six barges down the Mississippi River, then up the Ohio, to deliver a crane and other materials for the new bridge.
On June 2, the Florence T pushed the barge with the crane from its temporary stop in Ludlow. It traveled under the Brent Spence Bridge and to its new home on the Covington shore. The crane, with a 300-ton capacity, will remain at home on the 72-by-180-foot barge.
The Covington location, at Pete Rose Pier, sits just east of the Brent Spence near the base of the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge and in the shadow of Covington’s Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
In January of 2023, then-President Joe Biden stood very near where as the crane does now, joining officials from Ohio and Kentucky to mark $1.6 billion in funding what is officially called the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project.
Dock from Ohio shore coming soon
The five other barges sitting by Ludlow will soon follow the crane to Covington, Banik said.
Materials on those barges – and others that will follow by barge and truck – will soon be employed to begin building the bridge.
This summer, drivers crossing the Brent Spence will see:
Ohio, Kentucky to share ownership of new bridge
The new still-unnamed bridge will sit to the immediate west of the Brent Spence. Its 10 lanes – five on top, five on bottom – will carry Interstate 71/75 traffic over the Ohio.
After it is up, the Brent Spence will become a local-access bridge, with each deck reduced from four to three lanes.
Ohio and Kentucky will co-own the new bridge. The state of Ohio owns only two other bridges over the Ohio – the Oakley C. Collins Memorial Bridge in Ironton and the U.S. Grant Bridge in Portsmouth.
The city of Newport owns the Purple People Bridge and the state of Kentucky owns the other Greater Cincinnati bridges over the Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Crane to build new Ohio River bridge now at home near Covington
Reporting by Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
