BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Tiny North Bend could become the Ohio connection to a new bridge over the Ohio River that would link western Hamilton County with Northern Kentucky.
The Hamilton County Engineer's Office has revealed that the preferred location for a west-side bridge is connecting Ohio 128 with Ky. 237.
That's the best route from an engineer's viewpoint, said Chief Deputy Hamilton County Engineer Ted Hubbard.
"My personal opinion is to line up the two state highways if we're going to have one (a bridge)," he said.
He estimated at least 15 years for a bridge to open, but Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said he would push for faster action.
The bridge is needed to connect western Hamilton County with jobs growing around the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport, a Hamilton County planning group says.
The location idea is receiving support from Hamilton County officials, but they are also bracing for public protest. Plans for a new bridge in Delhi Township in 1991 were met with vigorous opposition.
The Ohio 128 connection is farther west. It could take a few different paths from its dead-end at U.S. 50 in Whitewater Township, but most of them fall within the borders of North Bend, population 550.
North Bend's vice mayor, Bill Kane, said he is not immediately opposed. "It would not necessarily affect the quality of life in the village, and it may enhance the desirability of some commercial property that lies along Route 50."
On the Kentucky side, Boone County Administrator Jim Collins said he has long favored a bridge that would connect with western Hamilton County. The reason it hasn't happened, he said, is because of the inability to decide a location on the Ohio side.
"It would do good things to reduce traffic on I-75 to the airport," Mr. Collins said.
The bridge idea has resurfaced as a Hamilton County planning group is mapping out development of the western county. Included in its final recommendation, after three years of study, is a west-side bridge.
Mr. Bedinghaus said the location is up to the engineers.
"The exact location has to be worked out after we agree this is something worthwhile to do," Mr. Bedinghaus said. "I'm sort of generally putting Bender Road on the east and Addyston (village) on the west as the range. It's premature to define it beyond that. To a large extent, that's the responsibility of the engineers and not the politicians."
Mr. Bedinghaus' range does not exactly agree with Mr. Hubbard's prefered location. It is clear that county leaders are still discussing location.
Hamilton County's other two commissioners, Tom Neyer Jr. and John Dowlin, favor a bridge as well.
"It would relieve traffic on the Brent Spence Bridge and build jobs and homes on both sides (of the river)," Mr. Dowlin said. "It's a triple-header."
Both roads are small, two-lane routes. Ohio 128 runs along the Great Miami River and is a mix of businesses, homes and farms.
Ky. 237 is lined with former horse farms now being developed as single-family homes.
The Ohio River bridges are owned by Kentucky, which must pay to maintain them. Mr. Collins, in Boone County, said he doesn't see that as a problem. He foresees most of the funding coming from the federal government.
"As a Kentuckian and as a Boone Countian, I say if we can get the two sides to agree on location, we can worry about the funding later," Mr. Collins said.
State transportation officials in both Ohio and Kentucky would need to approve a new bridge. Other approvals may be needed.
Ron Kruse, a leader of the anti-bridge forces in Delhi Township, said he will work against a bridge no matter where officials suggest placing it. The issue died quickly last time in Delhi Township when 900 people showed up for a public hearing. The proposal was buried within a month.
He thinks a bridge will require a four-lane expressway on either end and a connection to Interstate 71 in Ohio. That type of road invites fast-food restaurants, truck traffic and crime, said Mr. Kruse, a former Delhi Township trustee.
"All of a sudden, people can get in and out of your community easily," he said.
People will still shop in Northern Kentucky because retail is more plentiful there, he said, and the only thing western Hamilton County might get out of the deal is more housing.
"Are we just going to be the bedroom community for Northern Kentucky?" he asked.
People who fought the bridge last time are ready to do so again if the proposal comes to Bender Road again, Mr. Kruse said.
"We will have so many people opposed to it that the county engineer will probably have to leave the state," he said. "There will be a fight. We're geared up for it if it comes through Delhi, or if people want to fight it (elsewhere), I will surely assist them."
County Engineer Bill Brayshaw has proposed two additional road changes as part of the western Hamilton County development plan. He put the proposals in writing to the Ohio Department of Transportation last week. They are:
Moving the Ohio 264 corridor to Race Road and Harrison Road, which provides a more direct route from Interstate 74 to the commercial areas of Green Township, Cheviot and western Cincinnati. The state now has signs along Bridgetown Road, labeling it Ohio 264.
Extending Ronald Reagan Highway west from Colerain Township to I-74 in Harrison. The idea would not build a new road, but would designate Blue Rock Road and New Haven Road as part of the Cross County Highway.
The engineer's office suggests adding a third, turning lane at parts of Blue Rock and New Haven Roads. Some curves would be straightened within the existing right-of-way, Mr. Hubbard said.
In addition, as developers build along the route, they would be required to add a lane in many cases. Eventually, the route would become four through lanes almost entirely, Mr. Brayshaw wrote to state transportation officials.
Larry Kinnett, a Harrison Township trustee, said he likes the idea, especially if it helps persuade the state to widen a bottleneck at New Haven Road and I-74. Mr. Kinnett also sits on the western Hamilton County planning committee.
"The management of traffic-flow facilities is important, and it's important that it precedes the development," he said.
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