Biden: Notorious bridge may finally get fix in $1T bill

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden connected Monday launched his income transportation for his precocious passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill, predicting that a notoriously congested span that sits successful Senate Republican person Mitch McConnell's backyard volition yet get a agelong overdue overhaul.

Biden said successful an interrogation with WKRC-TV that helium expected the Brent Spence Bridge, which carries postulation implicit the Ohio River and connects Cincinnati with Northern Kentucky, would get backing successful the measure that the House passed past week and helium is expected to soon motion into law.

“You each are going to get successful the authorities of Kentucky good implicit $10 billion,” Biden said successful the interview. "It’s listed arsenic 1 of the astir notorious bridges successful the country. And truthful my conjecture is that that’s going to beryllium the prime that your governors are going to marque and privation to get done. And we tin get it done now."

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The president spotlighted a projected task successful 2 states that helium mislaid successful the 2020 predetermination to statesman what is expected to beryllium an extended administration-wide effort to archer the state astir what the infrastructure bill could mean for Americans.

Biden and Cabinet members are expected to measurement up media appearances and visits astir the state successful the coming weeks to item what's successful the legislation. The White House says Biden volition sojourn Baltimore connected Wednesday to underscore however the measure volition assistance Americans by upgrading ports and strengthening proviso chains.

The engaged Brent Spence Bridge has agelong been a bane of motorists successful the some states. The Federal Highway Administration declared the span functionally obsolete successful the 1990s due to the fact that its constrictive lanes carried much cars than it was designed for.

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Biden has antecedently pointed to the span task arsenic the benignant of much-needed infrastructure enactment that would yet get done if Congress passed the legislation. In a July CNN municipality hallway successful Cincinnati, helium made passing notation to the dangerously outdated Brent Spence, vowing his medication would “fix that damn span of yours" if his authorities passed.

In Kentucky, McConnell said Monday helium was “delighted” to spot the infrastructure measure connected its mode to Biden’s desk, heaping praise connected the bipartisan bundle helium supported adjacent arsenic helium has derided the president’s broader $1.75 trillion societal services and clime effort inactive making its mode done Congress.

“This volition beryllium the archetypal clip I’ve travel up present successful a 4th of a period erstwhile I thought possibly determination was a mode guardant connected the Brent Spence Bridge,” McConnell told an assemblage astatine a halt successful Covington, Kentucky.

He said Kentucky stands to summation $4.6 cardinal for alleged “hard infrastructure” and it volition beryllium the occupation of the authorities officials successful Frankfort to disagreement it up.

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“I deliberation determination whitethorn beryllium a mode guardant not lone successful Kentucky, but crossed the state to woody with these long-standing infrastructure problems,” McConnell said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said fixing the Brent Spence was a precocious priority.

“I privation to get this happening done,” Beshear said. “We’ve talked astir it for decades. This is our champion accidental to bash it. I privation to beryllium the politician that gets this done. What was erstwhile viewed arsenic intolerable abruptly present appears to beryllium precise possible.”

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Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting. Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Ky.

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