By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WASHINGTON - Two U.S. senators wasted little time in naming the replacement or renovation of the Brent Spence Bridge as a major priority.

Thursday, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, made the issue his first item of discussion during a hearing of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee on the upcoming federal highway budget.

Voinovich held up a blown-up photo of the bridge during rush hour to make his point to Federal Highway Administration chief Mary Peters. He also asked that a meeting be held with Peters and all the senators from Ohio and Kentucky.

"We need more money, and this is a prime example," Voinovich said, referring to the bridge, which could cost as much as $500 million to replace. "We need to take a common sense approach to this problem, because this impacts much more than just Ohio and Kentucky. And if we don't start tackling this now, we're going to have even bigger problems down the river."

The request came a day after Voinovich's staff met with a small group of Northern Kentucky business and political officials. About 65 people made a trip to Washington this week to push Congress for money to replace the bridge.

According to some studies, the 39-year-old bridge has fewer than 15 years of structural integrity left if nothing is done. And it is a major congestion point on one of the nation's busiest commercial routes, at the northern end of a 20-mile stretch of highway where Interstates 71 and 75 merge.

Kentucky highway officials also say that the accident rate on the bridge, almost all of which is in Kentucky, is 750 percent higher than the rest of the state's interstate system.

Peters was at Thursday's hearing to present the administration's proposed 2004 highway budget, which is $4.4 billion less than the current year's allocation.

She was told by members of both parties that the current budget proposal did not supply enough money. Peters did tell Voinovich that she would be glad to meet with the region's senators about the bridge.

In addition, Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., told the Northern Kentucky delegation Wednesday night that he was circulating letters of resolution supporting the bridge around both Ohio's and Kentucky's congressional delegations. He said he had gotten support from U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who used to chair the House's transportation appropriations subcommittee, and that he was in discussions with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"We're definitely getting some action on this," Bunning said. "We all now realize the importance of this, and we're going to try and get it done."

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is beginning a $2 million, 30-month study of what should be done about the bridge, what the best options are, and how much life the structure really has left. The region is requesting $93 million more to finish design and environmental studies, and then another $40 million a year over the next six years to start construction when that time comes.

Sam Beverage, the cabinet's chief engineer for the local district, said the two senators from both sides of the Ohio River getting involved was "fantastic news."

Beverage said he was much more confident of securing at least some money for the bridge as a result of the trip.

"We did a good job explaining the situation, but I was also really impressed with how much the congressmen listened to us and already knew about the issue," Beverage said.

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com