KIPDA gets update, meeting dates for bridges project

Clark County

UPCOMING MEETINGS

• Historic preservation committee, June 1.
• Regional advisory committee, June 15.
• Four area advisory committee meetings where the newly proposed bridges are supposed to be constructed — there will be two meetings for each state — June 16, 20, 21 and 23. Sacksteder said the meetings, while open to the public, are not necessarily designed to seek public input.
• Two public meetings are scheduled for June 27 and 28.
• The Indiana Public Meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 27, at the Holiday Inn Lakeview Louisville-North, 505 Marriott Drive, Clarksville.
• The Kentucky Public Meeting will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 28, at the Holiday Inn Hurstbourne, 1325 Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville.

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May 11, 2011

Public input days set for late June

By BRADEN LAMMERS Braden.Lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Wed May 11, 2011, 10:22 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE — An update on the Ohio River Bridges Project was presented to Kentuckiana’s Regional Planning and Development Agency, providing the group with a glimpse of what will need to be accomplished over the next year.

John Sacksteder, project manager with Community Transportation Solutions and general engineering consultant for the bridges project, provided the update and the status of where the group is relative to updating a Supplemental Environmental Impact Study — SEIS.

The state’s respective planning agencies are required to update the plan to build an east-end bridge, downtown bridge and rebuild Spaghetti Junction, because of the length of time since the original record-of-decision, filed in 2003.

“Here we are eight years later, things have changed,” Sacksteder said. “We need to look at, with the passage of time, is there anything new that needs to be considered in our decision making?”

In addition, the amendments made to the bridges project, which included $500 million in cost savings proposed by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, required an update to the SEIS.

The cuts, as outlined, would be made to the east-end bridge by reducing the bridge from six to four lanes, reconstructing Spaghetti Junction in its current location instead of moving it to an adjacent area as previously planned and by removing a planned pedestrian walkway on the new downtown Interstate 65 bridge due to the plans to complete the Big Four Bridge as a pedestrian river crossing.

“We want to meet people and let them understand that these are the steps that we are going to go through, there’s going to be a whole series of meetings that we want to engage [the public ] in,” Sacksteder said.

However, he reiterated the bridges project will not change the purpose and need statement of a two bridge project with the rebuild of Spaghetti Junction.

Gary Valentine, project manager with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, echoed the sentiment.

“What we’re doing in this upcoming set of meetings ... it’s about validation of our original decision-making process,” he said. “[It’s an] update of the supporting information that went around the development of the purpose and need statement of the project for the project.”

The document being referred to is the 2003 Record-of-Decision, which took five-and-a-half years to prepare. Officials with the bridges authority and project planners have repeatedly said they expect the SEIS update being prepared will be completed in about a year.

A slightly updated timeline has the bridges authority presenting a draft version of the SEIS by late 2011, which will likely include a preferred alternative of how the project will be financed and constructed. Following the draft of the SEIS, there will be a 45-day public comment period before a final version of the plan is presented, which is expected in early-2012. Approval from the Federal Highway Administration is expected in mid-2012.

What has continued to be a part of the financing plan is tolling on the bridges. An approval on a tolling plan has still not been returned from the FHWA and is likely to be part of the SEIS process moving forward, said bridges authority Executive Director Steve Schultz.

Another change that could affect the project was solicited following the industry forum hosted by the bridges authority and the state transportation agencies.

“There was pretty much consensus that we could dramatically reduce that [time] schedule if we choose one of these alternative delivery models,” Schultz said, of the plans presented at the forum.

By speeding up the project the bridges authority has previously stated they could save as much as $10 million each month the project schedule is moved forward.

“You can see the significant cost-savings that are attainable, and certainly that affects the toll base funding that is needed, and translates into lower toll rates,” Schultz said.

The process as it affects KIPDA will be in updating its long-range Horizon 2030 and short-range Transportation Improvement plans to accommodate the bridges project.

“We believe this is doable,” Sacksteder said of the timeline. “KIPDA is going to be playing a major role in that effort.”