Cincinnati, Ohio – OKI President and Clermont County Commissioner David Painter responded to the announcement of a new agreement between Kentucky and Ohio to increase efforts to build a new Ohio River bridge in the OKI region.
“Every citizen in the region should applaud Governors DeWine and Beshear for their difficult achievement in taking the Brent Spence Bridge project forward,” said David Painter, OKI President and Clermont County Commissioner. “Ohio and Kentucky’s ongoing work to prepare for this historic investment shows there is an aggressive joint effort to identify the funds needed to make this project happen. I am more optimistic than ever that the region will finally see the completion of this desperately needed project.”
Governors DeWine and Beshear met to sign a memorandum of understanding outlining the joint efforts Ohio and Kentucky will take to secure as much as $2 billion of funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to pay for the project. The announcement included Ohio and Kentucky’s intention to build the bridge with no tolls.
“Today’s announcement is encouraging news for the Cincinnati region, which has struggled with the need for a new bridge for decades,” said Mark Policinski, OKI’s CEO. “Because of the leadership of the Governors, combined with Senator Portman’s leadership in forging bipartisan infrastructure legislation, this project will hopefully be able to move forward without tolls, which has been an ongoing obstacle to its progression. We anxiously await federal guidelines and regulations on how to access necessary federal funding for this vital national infrastructure project.”
OKI is a council of local governments, business organizations and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies, plans and programs to improve the quality of life and economic development potential of the Tri-State.
