looks like the Feds can't come up with $2.5B to for a bridge between OH and KY.

are we to believe that the two of the most powerful men in Congress, McConnell in the Senate, Boehner in the House can't find the money for a bridge two decades past exceeding its designed capacity - a bridge that spans their two constituencies?

sell-outs in Columbus and Frankfort  want a toll bridge to pay back the borrowed money and won't tell us how many years it'll take. Kasich bristled at the question of how long it'll take to pay off the bonds.  it's a huge windfall for banking & finance, again.

maybe Kasich should go back to working for Lehman Brothers selling mortgage backed securities to the Ohio Pension Fund.  oh, but wait, it was the Lehman bankruptcy that started the 2008 crash...

aren't you glad he's running the show?

Ohio, Ky. governors: Tolls to help pay for new Brent Spence Bridge

COVINGTON — The governors of Ohio and Kentucky and the nation’s top transportation official made it crystal clear Wednesday: Tolls – and not federal funds – are the only way a new Brent Spence Bridge will be built.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear officially agreed to study tolls as the primary way of raising revenue for the $2.5 billion project – which they said would begin in early 2014.

The $4 million study will consider every detail of the project, including ways to potentially save money and establish a bi-state management team to oversee the job.

Also to be considered: The possibility of creating bridge access lanes in Ohio where tolls vary according to time of day and heavy use. So-called “high-occupancy toll” lanes have the effect of raising more revenue during rush hours.

“We’re going to get this done,” Kasich said. “It’s not like the headline is, ‘Oh my God, there may be a toll.’ The headline is: ‘Can you believe it? The governors of Kentucky and Ohio want to get this done quickly, and they’re actually being honest with people about how they’re going to get it done.’”

U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood joined the governors in urging the project forward during a press conference at a high-rise Covington hotel overlooking the Ohio River and the Brent Spence Bridge.

“We have a number of pending bridge proposals right now, and every one of them has tolling as a part of the source of funding,” LaHood said. “It’s the reality of building bridges today.”

About a dozen toll opponents from the Northern Kentucky Tea Party – all wearing “NO TOLLS” badges – quietly stood in the back of the room during the announcement. But another group that opposes tolls was not present – Northern Kentucky state lawmakers.

“I’m not going to a press conference that’s going to lead us to a plan to toll the bridge,” said Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington. “I find that disdainful.”

A high-powered group of top political, transportation and business leaders from both sides of the river attended. They included representatives from the offices of U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman.

Wednesday’s joint agreement cements a partnership between the state’s two governors that began with a meeting in downtown Cincinnati in April 2011. It’s the first time in two decades of project discussions that the state’s highest elected officials have been united in how to move forward.

“It a historic day,” said Mark Policinski, executive director of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, the region’s top transportation planning agency. “We have the governors making it very clear this is going to be built at a great savings to taxpayers and the business community.”

Jerry Wray, director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, said the first shovel would be put in the ground in early 2014. Schedules had called for the project to start Jan. 1, 2015.

Beshear said the states want a funding plan in place by the end of 2013.

“The idea of Uncle Sam riding in on a white horse (with money) is not going to happen,” Beshear said. “If you want a bridge, we’re going to have to do it ourselves. ... Gov. Kasich and I are totally committed to this project.”

Beshear said some federal funding will still be needed, but not at the 80 percent level that traditionally has financed big infrastructure projects. The government will help with loans and grants of an unknown amount.

Urgency to replace the Brent Spence Bridge has been growing in recent months, spurring creation of a coalition of business leaders to lobby for Kentucky legislation to fast-track construction. The 49-year-old Brent Spence Bridge on Interstates 71/75 is “functionally obsolete” because of its narrow lanes, lack of emergency shoulders and limited visibility on the lower deck. The bridge carries double its intended traffic capacity, and transportation officials say congestion is only going to get worse.

The current concept is to build a new double-decker bridge immediately west of the current bridge. Also, both decks of the existing bridge would be taken down and resurfaced.

Despite Wednesday’s festive feel, nothing regarding the bridge is assured. Kentucky owns the bridge, and its state legislature holds all the power in determining whether the project proceeds. Kentucky lawmakers will have to approve any financing plan before federal approval could even be sought.

Simpson and other toll opponents continue to say the federal government should pay for the interstate bridge, which is a part of the nation’s busiest freight corridor. “I think we should wait, unless the bridge is on the verge of collapse, which it isn’t,” Simpson said.

The study endorsed by the governors Wednesday is being conducted by HNTB, a leading engineering firm on major, national tolling projects. Preliminary results are expected to be completed by the end of January, potentially in time for next year’s Kentucky legislative session.

Tolling has become a major way of funding large road and bridge projects across the country. Thirty-three states currently have tollways, and several more are exploring tolls.