A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Is the end of Brent Spence bottleneck near? SB lanes open, not all ramps yet; NB coming next week


All four lanes of travel on the I-71/75 southbound (SB) deck over the Brent Spence Bridge are now open, as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet starts rolling out the full re-opening of the bridge.

Brent Spence Bridge, a major thoroughfare for both local and national traffic, connects two state critical to the movement of people, goods, and services. Travel has been disrupted since March 1, when KYTC started a routine maintenance project to clean and paint the bridge.

The on-ramp to I-71 southbound from 3rd St. in Downtown Cincinnati is also now open, though to I-71 southbound from Fort Washington Way remains closed. The on-ramp to northbound I-71/75 from Fourth Street in Covington is also still closed.

Beginning at 9 p.m. tonight, various lane closures will be put into place on I-71 southbound in Ohio between the Reading Rd. exit and the I-471 exit. All lanes of travel will be open by 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

In addition, between 10 p.m., Tuesday night and 6 a.m., Wednesday morning, rolling roadblocks will be put into place on I-71 southbound in Ohio. Law enforcement officers will be in place at the Reading Rd. exit and will hold traffic in 15-minute increments. Travel delays are likely, and drivers should use an alternate route, if possible.

At approximately 9 p.m. Tuesday night, crews will reopen the on-ramp to I-71 southbound from Fort Washington Way. Following that, the ramp from I-71 southbound to I-471 will be CLOSED. The I-471 ramp will reopen to traffic by 6 a.m., Wednesday morning.

By 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, all southbound traffic impacts related to the Brent Spence Bridge Maintenance Project will be removed and southbound traffic will be restored to its original configuration, says KYTC.

The northbound (NB) reopening schedule is expected to be announced next week.


For updates and detours, please go to BrentSpenceBridgeInfo.org         


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