Federal funding could speed up Ohio River Crossing timeline
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Last week, the states of Indiana and Kentucky applied for more than $632 million in federal grant funding in support of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing (ORX) project.
The $1.4 billion project, when complete, will extend Interstate 69 and connect Evansville with Henderson, Kentucky via a new, four-lane bridge over the Ohio River.
I-69 ORX spokesperson Mindy Peterson tells Inside INdiana Business that if the full grant allocation is awarded in quick fashion, construction on the bridge could begin even sooner than originally planned.
For Section 2 of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing, we have been talking about construction starting in 2027,” Peterson said. “If this grant is successful, and if the states get that full dollar amount that they’re going after, that could accelerate the timeline, and we could see construction starting in 2025.”
The states said if they receive the full grant amount, they will invest a combined $513.7 million from additional funding sources. The states have already invested a total of $265 million toward environmental studies and the first section of the project.
The project is split into three sections. The first, which began in June 2022, focuses on extending I-69 in Henderson from U.S. 60 down to KY-425, with new and upgraded interchanges.
Peterson said it is exciting to see the work being done after several years of planning.
“When you drive the corridor now, and you see bridges taking shape, and you see a just a massive amount of embankment that has been placed now, and you start to see the vision, and you’re able to see where I-69 is going to connect, it’s very rewarding to see that happen,” she said. “Also, it just gives a sense of reality to a project that has been in the discussion stage for so long that sometimes it’s hard for people to imagine that it really is happening.”
Section 3, which is slated to begin early next year, will feature similar improvements on the Indiana approach to the new bridge.
Then, work will shift to the construction of the new bridge, which is currently slated to begin in 2027.
“A lot of good work is happening in Kentucky. A lot of good work is happening in Indiana, and the two states are going to meet in the middle with this major by state effort with the river crossing,” Peterson said.
But what happens if the states don’t receive the full grant amount they’ve requested or if they’re rejected completely? Peterson said that shouldn’t stop the project from proceeding as originally planned.
“Both states have been identifying those funding resources,” she said. “We do know that tolling is part of that funding equation as well. So, when we do build that new river crossing…we will have the interstate crossing [that] will be tolled; that’s still part of the funding equation as well. Both of the states have identified a schedule that works for their funding resources.”
She said the bridge construction would still begin in 2027 and take about four construction seasons to complete, meaning an expected opening in 2031.
If the full funding is approved, Peterson said while it would push up the start date, it would still take the same amount of time to complete. But that could change as design bids come in.
“Part of the beauty of a design build contract is that you are having teams come in that bring ideas and innovation to the table. So when this is a project is let, and we start hearing from teams that are interested in building this, they may come to us with some really good ideas, and maybe they start shaving some of the time off that timeline.”
You can learn more about the I-69 ORX project by clicking here.