When the U.S. House approved a new transportation bill Friday, $2 million was allocated for a study of the Brent Spence Bridge, the main connection between Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.

        The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments will receive the money once the bill completes passage, meaning the two-year study would begin early next year — about four years ahead of schedule.

        “It's the proverbial 500-pound gorilla, and you have to plop that down before you do any other figuring,” said Cincinnati Transportation Director John Deatrick, who leads the OKI subcommittee studying the bridge.

        The bridge study funding was part of the $59.6 billion transportation funding bill that had been hung up in a dispute over allowing Mexican trucks to operate in the United States, but a compromise was reached.

        The Senate is expected to approve the measure early next week, and President Bush has endorsed the bill.

        OKI officials estimate that replacing the bridge will take at least 15 years and $500 million. The 38-year-old bridge is still structurally sound, but was designed to handle 80,000 vehicles daily and now carries as many as 140,000.

        It not only is the main transit point over the Ohio River, but connects Interstates 71 and 75, some of the busiest truck routes in the nation.

        Kentucky Transportation Cabinet engineering specialist Barry House said that the study will answer preliminary questions such as how many lanes will be needed; the configuration of a replacement; and how traffic could be managed during construction.

        “It will also give us a real good indication of how much it will cost and how long it will take, and then we can go after the appropriate funding with more detailed data,” Mr. House said.

        OKI spokesman Allen Freeman said that while OKI might seek more funding to expand the study later, the $2 million is all that is budgeted for the project.

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