Steps are being taken in the I-69 Ohio River Crossing project — and they don’t just include the arrival of more concrete beams to support the four-lane bridge’s northside approach.
A bi-state Tolling Body has been established to set tolling rates and policies, in anticipation of the span’s completion in 2031. The tolling commission consists of Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Lyndsay Quist, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray, and other to-be-named representatives. The group is expected to begin its work in the near future.
There are voices against tolls, including a Change.org petition. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also advocated that the project move forward without tolls, but the state’s General Assembly passed legislation requiring them.
Why will it cost drivers to cross the new bridge? The simplest answer to a complex question is the scarcity of money for transportation projects, says I-69 ORX spokeswoman Mindy Peterson. The bridge’s estimated cost is just shy of $1 billion, and its financing relies on toll revenue as well as federal and state funding from both states.
“There are many needs and limited dollars,” Peterson says. “Alternative funding really does have to be a solution to move projects forward. Tolls are almost a user fee in the purest sense of the word. Commuters are enjoying the benefits of shaving minutes from their trips and getting home a little faster.”
Bi-state travelers in Louisville, Kentucky, pay to cross northbound and southbound Interstate 65 Ohio River bridges, as well as the Lewis and Clark Bridge connecting Prospect, Kentucky, and Utica, Indiana. Peterson says tolls were needed to finance those bridge projects, which cost about $2.3 billion.
The I-69 bridge, championed for decades by political and business leaders on both sides of the river, “is a major transformational project, and it’s not one with a small price tag,” Peterson says. “It’s a critical project, and we have talked about tolling from the very beginning. You need this literal skin in the game from the community.”
As for the future of the U.S. 41 twin bridges (officially known as the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Twin Bridges), Peterson says the outlook remains the same: Once the new I-69 crossing is in service, the southbound U.S. 41 bridge will close and the U.S. 41 northbound span will offer two-way traffic.
Peterson says transportation officials are aware of the public’s desire that both U.S. 41 bridges remain in use long-term, and “there is still time for those continuing conversations.” But again, she explains that dollars are an issue.
Keeping both U.S. 41 bridges in use “would have to make sense financially,” Peterson says. “Both have been around a long time (the northbound span dates to 1932, the southbound one to 1965), and maintenance costs are high.”
Beams’ arrival will tie up traffic
Meanwhile, delivery of the last beams for the approach to the new bridge in Evansville is next, but the winter storm of Jan. 24-25 pushed back that timeline; the new delivery dates are Feb. 3-5; Feb. 16-19; and Feb. 23. Because the 32 concrete beams from Decatur, Indiana, range from 134 to 163 feet long, traffic will be impacted when the beams are hauled in.
As beams are delivered, two short-term, rolling closures each lasting 5-10 minutes are expected on U.S. 41 to allow delivery vehicles to safely make the left turn from southbound U.S. 41 to Waterworks Road. Deliveries are anticipated between 1 and 4 p.m.
Message boards along U.S. 41 will remind drivers of these closures. ORX officials say the schedule may be adjusted due to weather conditions and is subject to change.
