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Kentucky House drops Brent Spence Bridge from toll consideration

A bill halfway through the Kentucky statehouse would authorize private funding of public projects around the state. However, lawmakers prohibited adding tolls on any interstate project that connects Kentucky and Ohio.

The House voted 82-7 to send the bill to the Senate after adding a provision from Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington. The bill would exclude tolls on the Brent Spence Bridge to pay for the $2.6 billion replacement and renovation project.

Officials on both sides of the state line tout a public-private partnership as the best way to replace the Interstate 75 bridge connecting northern Kentucky with Cincinnati. The existing structure is toll free.

Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said during a recent hearing on HB407 that public-private partnerships would be another option to get needed transportation work done around the state.

“It’s a tool in my tool kit that I don’t currently have,” Hancock testified. “We have multiple projects that perhaps could benefit from this legislation.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes the conversion of toll-free interstate roads and bridges into tolled facilities. OOIDA also strongly opposes the lease or sale of existing public roadways to private investors.

Simpson said he wants to take a “wait and see” approach to tolls in northern Kentucky. First, he wants to see what happens in Louisville with the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Preliminary plans put toll rates at $1 for commuters, $2 for other motorists, and $10 to $12 for large trucks. The rates will be charged on two new bridge spans under construction and the existing span that carries Interstate 65.

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