BRADEN LAMMERS
The long-planned Ohio River Bridges Project got a push Friday, when regional businesses threw their support behind an ad campaign to get the project under way.
During a press conference at Eagle Steel, Kerry Stemler, member of the Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Network Executive Committee, proclaimed the importance of the bridges to the major manufacturing and logistics companies in the region. More than 120 companies that depend on a strong network of roadways have locations in the Louisville metro and Southern Indiana area, including General Electric, Ford and United Parcel Service.
“The No. 1 asset at our location, is our location,” Stemler said.
With more than 144,000 logistics and manufacturing jobs located in the region, transportation and distribution of goods and services is a major component of the local economy.
“We kind of refer to the Louisville and Southern Indiana area as the epicenter of automotive and appliance alley,” said Charles Moore, president of Eagle Steel. “We have become an epicenter, but unfortunately we are an epicenter that has stoppage and going every day, every minute.”
The main processing facility for Eagle Steel is located off of Loop Road in Jeffersonville, with another facility across the river, off of Collins Lane in Louisville. Combined, Eagle Steel has a work force of about 120 people, but the bridges would provide a catalyst for growth, Moore said.
“Commerce depends on a new bridge, new bridges I should say. It’s jobs for Indiana because everything that is shipped out of here [Kentucky facility], is processed over in Indiana. An increase would just be exponential for all of us,” he said.
The rewards Southern Indiana could reap from an increase in industry may prove to have a higher threshold than Louisville.
“Louisville has outgrown their industrial space,” Moore said. “Indiana has got the new facility, the old ammunition plant, and it’s just fantastic for industrial growth. And it can’t grow without good roads.”
Stemler agreed with Moore on the importance of improving the connectivity of Indiana.
“[The bridges project] is vitally important to the state of Indiana because we have to make that connectivity through the [Interstate] 65 corridor,” Stemler said.
The bridges project has been cited as the last hurdle in an effort to ensure Louisville and Southern Indiana’s place as a starting point for distribution.
“We have upgraded our airport, we have invested in modernized locks and dams systems here, but our bridge and highway system is the weak link that holds us back,” said Jeff Uligan, co-chair of Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Network. “Louisville ranks among the worst in mid-sized cities for traffic congestion. The commuter in this region spends an average of more than a full week sitting in traffic each year, which is bad for our economy, our environment and our quality of life.”
The major obstacle is not traffic, but funding the multibillion dollar project. The estimated cost for the project is $4.1 billion, with $1.1 billion plus coming from Indiana and $2.9 billion plus coming from Kentucky. The money will come from federal, state and local funds, both public and private.
The bridges project will include a bridge parallel to the Kennedy Bridge to create two bridges, one carrying northbound and one carrying southbound traffic on Interstate 65. An east end bridge near Utica also is planned as well as a reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction.
One option that has been floated around is the idea of using tolls to supplement funding. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear unveiled a proposal Thursday that would create a special state authority to oversee financing and construction of the bridges, according to Associated Press reports.
The plan would authorize the use of tolls to help pay for the new bridges and will likely be a topic of discussion at a special session for Kentucky’s General Assembly on Monday.
“If tolling were to become a component of this, it would be done in high-speed, nonstop tolling,” Stemler said.
And although it has not been determined whether or not tolling will become part of the project, no option is off the table, he said.
“The only way this is going to get built is if we figure out a way to pay for it,” Stemler said. “This is a partnership with two states. It’s Indiana’s problem, too. The bridges coalition knows that speed is important — the delays are costing us hundreds of millions of dollars in opportunity as well as in basic construction costs. We’ve got two states that do have significant dollars right now to start. Indiana’s got maybe a bigger purse, a bigger bank account. Kentucky’s already approved $231 million that is ready to go.”
The outlook for the Ohio River Bridges Project is that it also will create more than 56,000 jobs in the area over the life of the project.
When asked if this was the No. 1 economic priority for the region, Stemler said, “Absolutely. This is the answer for our future.”
ON THE WEB
• www.kyinbridges.com
• www.thebridgescoalition.com
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area businesses have signed on their support for the Ohio River Bridges Project ad campaign aimed at giving the construction project a push
