Recently in ORBP Category

The Courier-Journal's recent Building Bridges editorial was another attempt by the editorial board to try to scare politicians into supporting the $4.1 Billion Ohio River Bridges Project. But it's not going to work because people are tired of it. After praising their beloved Mayor Abramson for saying that he sees "light at the end of the bridges", they had the audacity to say:

"the community should insist that candidates who aspire to city and state leadership fully embrace the bridges project"

If you don't agree, take a minute to let them know why they are wrong. They have been doing this for years, but their tactics are running a little thin (like the paper, come to think of it). They went on to misrepresent the project:

"It shouldn't be necessary to repeat this for mayoral candidates, but here goes: The record of decision for the project is a done deal, arrived at after years of study and discussion and agreed to by a broad consensus of the political and business leadership in two states. It calls for both bridges to be pursued at the same time, and for good reason."

According to the ORBP website, the East End Bridge is to be completed before construction on the downtown bridge even begins. They imply that both bridges must be built at the same time, but that's factually incorrect and very intentional misleading.

CJ: Governor OKs $100 M bond sale for ORBP

A year ago, the state legislature approved $231 M to go toward the Bridges Project, but it's taken the Governor almost a year to actually approve less than half the bonds. They indicate that it is for land acquisition, so we'll track the $s and see where they are headed.

CJ: Bridges Lawsuit Headed to Kentucky Court

Clearly River Fields would have objected to this move if they believed it didn't benefit them. We know what kind of influence they've had on local elected leaders, now we will see how their special interest agenda works in the judicial system.

WFPL's Gabe Bullard reported...

"While the authority was formed to transcend political pressure and speed up the bridges' construction, it's clear that every decision will face challenges, as Ward-Pugh, 8664 and River Fields remain dedicated to their own visions for the bridges project."

You can read about it here or listen to it hear.

The Federal Highway Administration has asked that River Fields' lawsuit be moved from Washington DC to a Kentucky court.

We're not sure what we think about this one. River Fields' reputation as obstructionists to the East End Bridge is well known, but on the other hand, the organization's political influence cannot be underestimated. We will observe with great interest.

From the CJ's article:

"The lawsuit says that adding a single bridge downtown and redesigning Spaghetti Junction, where interstates 64, 65 and 71 meet near downtown, would address the region's existing and long-term traffic needs on both sides of the river."

"Politics, power and obstruction: Has Louisville's most prominent preservation group lost its vision?"

Steven Shaw did a heck of a job covering a very difficult story. Read it!

Today, we issued a Press Release and released  polling data indicating strong support for the East End Bridge within Louisville Metro. Now is a critical time for the citizens and elected leaders of this city to make a smart and informed decision.

When we elect members of our Metro Government we expect them to serve our interests to the best of their ability. If they don't, then we will elect people who will.

The Ohio River Bridges Project has changed dramatically since the Record of Decision was signed in 2003. Consider what's happened in seven years:

• The cost has tripled from $1.4 Billion to $4.1 Billion.
• Now we are being asked to pay for it with tolls.
• The price of gas has doubled.
• The economy is in a sustained recession.
• Recent reports suggest traffic and congestion have declined.

All of this, and two local Councilmen have had this to say:

"This is not the time for further discussion on the project itself"
-Kevin Kramer

"The time for public discussion, as far as this issue, has passed"
-David Tandy

Not so fast! When these two should be asking tough questions, they instead want to rubber stamp a non-elected authority to impose what could be a $4.1 Billion tax on the citizens of our region. Shouldn't they be asking questions like:

What do the citizens of this region want?

Could we build the East End Bridge first without tolls?

Does the Environmental Impact Statement really say that the East End Bridge will provide more "cross-river mobility" at less than half the cost of the Downtown Bridge? [Hint: YES]

How much and on which bridges might they toll?

Do people support building a 23 lane Spaghetti Junction and widening I-64 over the Great Lawn?

Won't a bigger Spaghetti Junction simply push the bottlenecks to Hospital Curve and Cochran Tunnel?

Does River Fields plan to sue if/when the Record of Decision is opened to allow for tolling? (Hint: YES]

No one wants to see the East End Bridge move forward faster than we do, which is why now is a critical time for our elected leaders to answer some very important questions. If they don't, we should hold them accountable.

Protecting historic sites goes slowly

"Kentucky and Indiana are taking longer than expected to protect key historic properties identified under the Ohio River Bridges Project"

The Build the Bridges Coalition recently released a couple videos intended to promote the Ohio River Bridges Project and a tolling authority to fund its $4.1 Billion price tag.

It's worth checking out the New Downtown Bridge Fly-over video. Stop the video at 0:17 and you'll see that their rendering actually shows I-64 dropping to grade across the waterfront. Great idea! Clearly this wasn't intended.

So what portion of the rendering did they intentionally leave out? We'll give you a hint, it represents more than half the cost of the Bridges Project but it's not a bridge. You guessed it, the 23 lane Spaghetti Junction.