SITE Brent Spence Bridge

When thinking about sites for this project, obsolescence is a key influence. The Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Cincinnati, Ohio to Covington, Kentucky is still in use but is considered functionally obsolete by today’s capacity needs. The bridge opened in November of 1963 as a three-lane bridge meant to carry about 80,000 vehicles per day. It is a cantilever warren through truss bridge spanning 1,736.4 feet across. There are two traffic levels, one heading Northbound and one moving Southbound. Because of congestion, the emergency shoulders were removed to provide another lane. Today the bridge supports over 160,000 vehicles passing over it, and it is projected to increase each year. While the Ohio Department of Transportation deems the bridge safe structurally, the danger lies in its lack of emergency shoulders, narrow lanes, and overcrowding.

For years, talks of replacing the Brent Spence Bridge or building a companion bridge to reduce the highway bottleneck have occurred to no avail. What would happen if this bridge was given back to nature? It crosses the Ohio River, a major waterway and ecosystem. It could be integrated into this ecosystem and become a natural corridor for humans to interact with the environment, while supporting the needs of native flora and fauna. The intersection between the obsolete, multileveled steel structure and its natural surroundings creates opportunities for rewilding and intentional habitat restoration in an urban setting. The Brent Spence Bridge would be the landscape that an urban industrial Cincinnati is lacking and could be grounds for experimenting with deconstruction of the obsolete.