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In its current form, the Brent Spence Bridge is a double-deck span over the Ohio River that carries I-71 and I-75, connects Cincinnati, OH, to Covington, KY, and supports eight lanes of traffic. 

A project that began over a decade ago looks to expand the thoroughfare by constructing a second bridge west of the original to provide 10 additional lanes of traffic while also rehabilitating the existing bridge to carry six lanes of local commuter traffic. 

With a price tag totaling $3.6 million and a promise to ease traffic on one of the country’s most congested freight routes, the project gained national attention when President Joe Biden visited in 2023 to support the undertaking as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

However, on October 16, a group of four Cincinnati-area plaintiffs filed a 34-page lawsuit that could derail the project over environmental concerns. 

What the Lawsuit Alleges

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit state that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal and state agencies to “prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on all major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” 

The process starts with an environmental assessment (EA); if there isn’t sufficient evidence of significant environmental impact, a finding of no sufficient impact (FONSI) can be issued, negating the EIS requirement. 

However, the suit alleges that the defendants did not sufficiently study the environmental impact. How did the plaintiffs come to this conclusion? Following an initial EA, project planners issued a FONSI in 2012. 

The FONSI was subsequently reaffirmed in 2015, 2018, and finally in 2024, following the release of a supplemental environmental assessment (SEA) and a revised supplemental environmental assessment (RSEA) claiming no need for further environmental study.  

Despite this recommendation, the RSEA notes that the project will: 

• Impact 51 acres of land 
• Permanently impact 2.5 acres of parkland, 2.5 acres of wetland, and two streams 
• Impact 90 acres of forested habitat, including areas used by threatened and endangered bat species for foraging and maternity 
• Increase ozone pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and soot and fine particulate pollution 
• Increase traffic noise 
• Worsen existing problems with stormwater quality and quantity 
• Require 24 commercial relocations 

The suit states that the defendants have “arbitrarily and capriciously refused to prepare an EIS” and, as a result, alternatives like tolls and investments in transit have not been considered. 

Groups Involved in the Suit

The lawsuit was filed by four plaintiffs, namely: 

• Devou Good Project, Inc., aka Greater Cincinnati Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development 
• Civic Cincinnati 
• Ride the Cov 
• Queen City Bike 

The suit names several defendants, including: 

• U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of U.S. DOT 
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of FHWA 
• Pamela Boratyn, Director of Ohio DOT 
• Jim Gray, Secretary of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet 
• U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also named as a defendant. 

Potential Outcomes

With the filing of this lawsuit, the plaintiffs will likely delay the project, slated for completion by 2032, and potentially put a stop to it. Their goals include ending the expansion of the I-71/75 corridor or, at the very least, securing a mandate for an environmental impact statement. 

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