The Bridge To The South Is Down For The Count!

The bridge to the South is closed indefinitely. Brent Spence Bridge which carries Interstate 75 is the most dangerous bridge in the United States.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

PROTECT BLACK WOMEN! 

END SARS NOW!

HER NAME IS BREONNA TAYLOR!

WEAR A DAMN MASK! SAVE A LIFE!

ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

BLOGGER IS TRASH!

For those who travel in the metro Cincinnati area, you may be familiar with the Brent Spence Bridge. The bridge is a double decker cantilevered truss bridge that carries Interstate 75 and Interstate 71 across the Ohio River. It links Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky. The bridge takes nearly 460,000 vehicles a day. 

It’s like the gateway to the South. 

It is probably considered one of the most dangerous infrastructures in the United States.

The Cincinnati metro area covers the city with a population of 301,000 residents, the Tri-State region which is a formation of 20 counties in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky which has a population of 2.5 million people.

The bridge is considered the easiest way through Cincinnati despite the traffic congestion.

A major fire destroys the lower decking of the Brent Spence Bridge which carries Interstate 75 a continuous freeway that leads from Miami, Florida to the Canadian border.

Well for the time being, folks who travel through the area will have to use alternative routes to get through the Cincinnati area. The bridge is closed due to a major accident. 

Two semi-trucks had crashed on the lower deck of the bridge causing a huge fire and structural damage to the bridge. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Ohio Department of Transportation have closed the bridge due to the possibility of the collapse. 

The bridge’s closing has disrupted the Cincinnati area. Now it’s forcing more traffic on the local thoroughfares and Interstate 471, a spur route that leads directly into Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky suburbs. 

Folks are being warned from Dayton, Columbus, Lexington, Indianapolis, Louisville and Eastern Ohio to prepare for long traffic delays and congestion. 

Mainly if anyone is traveling through Cincinnati, they will have to take Interstate 275 loop to get around the city. If you’re coming from Louisville and Lexington, you might want to take Interstate 275 east from Erlanger into Ohio and make the 43 mile travel  around the city to Interstate 71 and 75 in the north of Cincinnati.

If you’re coming from Columbus, you want to take Interstate 275 to east from Blue Ash and travel the 38 miles to Interstate 71/75 near Erlanger. The delays could exceed over an hour.

If you’re coming from Dayton, you want to take the 41 mile drive on Interstate 275 west to Indiana and Kentucky to get to Interstate 71/75. When you get near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, you might see delays that could exceed near an hour.

If you’re coming from Indianapolis, you want to take Interstate 74 to Interstate 275 south and enter Indiana and Kentucky from that point. It will be a 29 mile drive and going near the airport you can expect delays in traffic that might exceed an hour. 

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Democrat and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Republican have talked to Elaine Chao, the outgoing Transportation Secretary on how to fix this problem. She has signalled the states will get funding to fix the bridge. 

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is the husband of Chao. He, Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) have opposed funding for infrastructure throughout President Donald J. Trump’s years and likely will do so in President Joe Biden’s years. 

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is likely the only senator who sees the writing on the wall. He is hoping the federal government will get funding for the bridge.