The Hill political newspaper website leads off its take on the top five "infrastructure emergencies" across the U.S. with the Brent Spence Bridge, which it says is responsible for moving 4 percent of gross national product.
"Advocates for investing in the nation's infrastructure are hesitant to single out certain projects as deserving priority over others, arguing that sustained funding and attention is needed equally across the board," the story opens. "But there are some crumbling structures threatening both the economy and public safety that are just too urgent not to point out."
That's not news in Greater Cincinnati, where finding a replacement for the aging, overcrowded highway bridge has been a
quixotic journey for corporate, government and community leaders for years.
Design concepts were announced in 2010, but Ohio, Kentucky and federal political leaders can't agree on funding sources or methods.
"Some transportation planners are calling on officials not only to rehabilitate the bridge but to construct a new one alongside it,"
The Hill writes. "Every year of delay in the start of construction costs the taxpayers nearly $75 million per year in inflation, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation."
President Obama visited the Brent Spence Bridge in 2011 as part of a broader push for infrastructure investments, saying, "It's in such poor condition, it's functionally obsolete."
Read the full story from
The Hill here.
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