The US Department of Transportation has approved an environmental review of a proposed $3.6bn bridge linking Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky over the Ohio River, meaning the scheme can now move to construction.
The plan is to relieve congestion on the 1963 Brent Spence Bridge that was designed to carry 80,000 vehicles a day but now must cope with twice that volume.
The new, double-deck “companion bridge” will go up beside it, leaving the old one in place for local traffic.
The “Brent Spence Bridge Corridor” plan also involves rebuilding a 13km stretch of interstates 71 and 75.
Ohio governor Mike DeWine described the corridor now as “one of the worst truck bottlenecks in the nation”, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
He said the interstates carry more than $400bn worth of freight a year.
The new bridge would relieve “the frustration and inconvenience drivers have experienced in the corridor for more than 20 years”, he added.
The un-tolled bridge is expected to take eight years to complete.
It will get $1.6bn in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Construction spending in the US hit $2.1 trillion in January, nearly 12% higher year on year.
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Thank you President Biden!