COVINGTON, Ky. — A redesign of one of the entrances to the Brent Spence Bridge has had positive results in reducing crashes in its first year, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) said.
The Texas Turnaround effort made it safer for drivers to merge onto the highway by redesigning the entrance ramp at Fourth Street onto northbound Interstates 71/75 in 2022.
The new design opened in December 2022.
KYTC said the Texas Turnaround has caused crashes to go down significantly.
We analyzed KYTC's crash data and found that crashes decreased by approximately 49%.
“With safety as our driving force, the Texas Turnaround was an innovative engineering solution that has proven to be effective in both increasing safety and reducing traffic congestion along a high-traffic corridor,” Chief District Engineer of KYTC District 6, Bob Yeager said. “We are grateful for the collaboration and support from our great neighbors at the City of Covington to get the project done.”
Before the effort began, more accidents occurred on the Brent Spence Bridge because drivers did not have enough time to prepare to merge onto I-75 when entering the bridge northbound at Fourth Street. Drivers had about the length of the bridge before they had to merge onto the highway. However, the drivers had to cut across two lanes in that short amount of time.
Cars abruptly weaving onto the interstate increased the chance of accidents.
The Texas Turnaround was created to fix this issue by giving drivers more time and space. This was achieved by closing the existing ramp from Fourth Street to northbound I-71/I-75. Instead, drivers use a longer U-shaped ramp — with no stop signs or lights — further south to enter the highway.
The ramp goes underneath the highway at Pike Street and circles to the existing ramp.
The travel lanes were also re-striped on the interstate during construction, creating an additional lane from Pike Street to the bridge.
Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said he credits the new design to home builder Greg Fischer, who supports the advocacy group Bridge Forward. For years, the group has been trying to lower the impact the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project has on surrounding communities.
“When Greg came to me with the idea as a practical, feasible, cost-effective way to increase safety on the bridge, it just seemed to make a lot of sense,” Meyer said. “These numbers prove the value of the investment, and we think the Turnaround will continue to save lives and property and reduce backups. We appreciate KYTC’s work on making this happen.”
Read More:
4th Street ramp to I-71/75 to close: 'Texas Turnaround' construction enters final phase
'We want to make sure that what we have is accurate': KYTC, ODOT host hearing for Brent Spence Bridge project
'We defer to the people of Cincinnati': Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine weighs in on Brent Spence Bridge design
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