The Ohio River Bridges Project could threaten smaller transportation projects around the Louisville region. The C-J reported today that because there’s no financing plan for the $4.1 Billion fiasco, the Federal government could freeze important short-term transportation projects. A December deadline has been imposed to settle on a financing plan.
Four years ago, officials expected that the states’ federal gasoline tax revenue would be enough to cover the cost, which was estimated at $1.4 billion.
But now that the project has climbed to $4.1 billion, Kentucky and Indiana are looking for more money—possibly including tolls—and the federal government wants details.
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The government requires all federally financed transportation projects to have clear sources of funding to keep unrealistic projects from tying up money.
We’ve known that the demands of financing this mega-project are far greater than the expected return. For merely half the price, the 8664.org plan solves the same transportation problem without requiring tolls or the destruction of Downtown Louisville. It’s definitely not too late to fix our transportation issues in a responsible way. Perhaps the Feds will finally realize that the Spaghetti Junction-two-bridge solution is as “unrealistic” as many have know for so long.
I read Wrestling with Moses today, and was astounded – and ultimately depressed – by the parallels between Jane Jacobs’ battles in the 60s against Moses’ distorted, short-sighted vision and our own battle – 50 years later – here in Louisville. Maybe everyone should get a copy of the book and deliver it to the mayor and his cronies. I don’t see how anyone could read it and not see what is wrong with the bridges project…