Ripples from bridge closure spread
Path over Ohio River is part of one of the busiest trucking routes in nation
CINCINNATI – The indefinite closure of the Interstate 71/75 Brent Spence Bridge, which caught fire Wednesday after a crash, not only affects the many thousands of Greater Cincinnati commuters who use the bridge daily to cross the Ohio River into Kentucky, but the nation as a whole.
Here’s why:
Hundreds of thousands of drivers
The Brent Spence Bridge carries more than 163,000 vehicles a day across the Ohio River, according to a 2019 traffic count from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Of the five major bridges spanning the river between downtown Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, the Brent Spence is by far the heaviest traveled. And because it’s shut down, those 163,000 drivers will have to find an alternate route.
But the problem is worse than that. With the Brent Spence closed, drivers started using the historic John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge as a detour. The Roebling has an 11-ton weight limit and cannot handle semi-trucks. Because some drivers were ignoring that weight limit and using the Roebling anyway, that bridge is now closed, too.
Together, the Brent Spence and Roebling bridges account for 172,440 vehicles a day, according to the KTC.
That’s 57.1% of all the traffic that crosses the river on the five main bridges between downtown and northern Kentucky.
‘Any delay is cost’
The bridge’s closure is a blow to Cincinnati and northern Kentucky – particularly for commuters who use the Brent Spence daily or who use other bridges
that are now going to be much busier – but this is a big problem for the nation as a whole.
The Brent Spence Bridge is part of one of the busiest trucking routes in the United States, carrying more than $1 billion worth of freight every day and more than $400 billion worth of freight every year.
That freight goes all around the world, said Mark Policinski, chief executive officer of regional planning agency Ohio-kentucky-indiana Regional Council of Governments. So if a truck gets delayed here, there are going to be ripples.
“If you can’t get your material to build your product and you can’t get your product to your customers, that’s not good,” Policinski said. “Any delay is cost.”
The Brent Spence leads to the Cincinnati/northern Kentucky International Airport, where there are hubs for DHL and Amazon. All that movement of goods requires trucks to be able to run on time. It’s crucial to the economy, Policinski said.
‘Everything stops’
The Brent Spence Bridge is a linchpin on the I-75 trade corridor, which stretches from Miami to Michigan.
But the bridge also connects with the I-70 corridor, the I-74 corridor and the I-65 corridor. The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor website said the bridge connects traffic to 10 states, including Ohio and Kentucky.
“It is recognized by every transportation expert in this country that the Brent Spence Bridge is nationally significant,” Policinski said. “There is no argument that this is just a local bridge. It is a bridge of national significance.”
Locally, the I-75 corridor is the backbone of the Cincinnati region, Policinscki said. Of the 2 million people who live in the region, 60% live within 5 miles of the I-75 corridor. And of the 1 million jobs in the area, 70% are within 5 miles of the corridor.
“So when the corridor is shut down, everything stops,” Policinski said. “Everyone has to find a different route to go. It is very, very clear that we are in for some difficult times.”
Traffic jams already cost millions
The Brent Spence Bridge has long been congested, a frequent spot for traffic jams and long delays. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars in time and fuel are wasted as drivers sit on the bridge, Policinski said.
The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor website said passenger cars waste 3.6 million hours every year in delays caused by the bridge.
With the bridge shut down completely for an untold amount of time, that financial toll will only rise, Policinski said.
What if the bridge is closed for a month? What if it’s two months?
“And then you start thinking about, what happens if it’s severely damaged and it takes a year or it cannot be used without major renovation? This is a darn mess,” he said.
Not just bridges in trouble
Every vehicle that would use the Brent Spence Bridge now has to use a different bridge. Those bridges already have their own traffic and congestion problems, but the problem spreads further.
To get to the other bridges, drivers will have to use local roads, causing damage on roads that aren’t used to such stress and hassle for neighbors not used to such heavy traffic.
“It’s one thing to have four cars going down your street every hour,” Policinski said. “It’s another thing to have 200 cars going down your street every 15 minutes.”