COVINGTON, KY — President Joe Biden was just across the river from Cincinnati, in Covington, Kentucky to discuss infrastructure and the upcoming Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project.
Biden was joined Wednesday by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Senator Sherrod Brown, former Senator Rob Portman and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. \
When addressing the crowd Wednesday, Biden said he wanted start the new year off by being in Kentucky, talking about the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project because it “sends an important message.”
>>RELATED: Brent Spence Corridor Project moving forward after securing over $1.6B in federal funding
“I believe it send an important message to the entire county: We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward,” Biden said.
Last week, DeWine and Beshear announced more than $1.6 billion in federal funding for the Brent Spence Corridor Project to help build a new Ohio River bridge near Cincinnati.
Plans for the project include constructing a companion bridge to the west of the existing bridge and improvements to the current bridge, in addition to the roadway network that ties into each river crossing.
“For decades, people have talked about the Brent Spence Bridge,” Biden said. “But folks, talking is over. With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re finally going to get it done.”
Biden commended Brown and Portman for their commitment to the project through the years, calling them both “men of significant integrity and people who do what they say.”
>> ‘I know he’s fighting;’ What we know about Damar Hamlin’s condition days after cardiac arrest
The president also called the developments with the bridge a bright spot in the nation.
“After years of politics being so divisive, there are bright spots across the county. The Brent Spence Bridge is one of them; A bridge that continues and connects different centuries, different states, different political parties,” Biden said.
He closed his remarks by telling the crowd “our best are ahead of us.”
Groundbreaking for the project is expected to happen in late 2023, and additional construction activities will begin in 2024. “Substantial” completion of the project is expected by 2029.