Jackie Green
Go Green Campaign NewsNew bridges authority holds first meetingBy Marcus Green - magreen@courier-journal.com - February 2, 2010The first meeting of a 14-member group assembled to develop a funding plan for the Ohio River Bridges Project brought a warning from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. “This is not a drill,” Daniels said Tuesday, joining Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson in a room at the Muhammad Ali Center overlooking the river. “Decades of dreaming, scheming, hoping are over and a new era begins right here now with this commission and with the … very bright prospects ahead of us to make this project real,” Daniels said. At its inaugural meeting, the Louisville-Southern Indiana Bridges Authority elected its leadership, chose an executive director and agreed to meet again at the Ali Center Feb. 10. In a joint appearance, Beshear, Daniels and Abramson sought to overcome public skepticism about a project that has federal approval but is lagging due to funding difficulties. Abramson noted that the project has been discussed for three decades but said, “We’re seeing light at the end of the bridges.” And while Daniels urged the authority to keep its funding options open, he said tolls are “the fairest and probably the most direct way to get this job done.” The $4.1 billion project calls for two new bridges — one adjacent to the Kennedy Bridge downtown and one between Utica, Ind. and Prospect — along with a reconfigured Spaghetti Junction interchange where Interstates 64, 65 and 71 meet near downtown. The current completion date is 2024. But both governors told reporters that construction should be complete well before then. “We want this done as fast as possible,” Beshear said. “I don’t know what that means. But to me, it means faster than 10 years.” Beshear, Daniels and Abramson appointed the board. The Kentucky law establishing the authority requires that four of Kentucky’s seven members be familiar with road and bridge design or financing large projects. In addition, the three officials recommended hiring an executive director. They chose Steve Schultz, a Columbus, Ind. resident and former general counsel to Daniels, who also serves on the Indiana Finance Authority. The board approved that recommendation. Schultz’s salary was not immediately available, but Beshear and Daniels said the two states would cover the cost. Beshear said an executive director was needed because the board members are volunteers with other jobs and responsibilities. “They’re going to be donating a substantial portion of their time the next few years to getting this job done. But there isn’t any question that we need a full-time focal point that’s going to ramrod this project on a day-by-day basis,” Beshear said. Joe Prather, the former Kentucky Transportation Secretary, was chosen as the board’s chairman. Sellersburg, Ind. businessman Kerry Stemler was elected co-chairman. Prather said the authority would move quickly on a finance plan. Following the meeting, Abramson and Beshear said they believed the panel could develop the plan by the end of the year. Two people spoke during a public comment period. One was Jackie Green, a cycling advocate and candidate for Louisville mayor, who urged the panel to consider high-speed rail and public transit options before building new roads. Beshear, however, told reporters the authority will only consider the two-bridge project, not alternatives. Indiana already has set aside proceeds from leasing a Northern Indiana toll road to help pay for its $1.1 billion portion of the project. Some Kentucky lawmakers have bristled at that approach, particularly since Indiana leased the road to a foreign company. Prather said that while the authority will look at “every possible avenue” of financing, having a private company lease roads in Kentucky might be problematic. “It has to be legal in both states, and I’m not prepared today to tell you that that would be legal in Kentucky,” Prather said.
[ Return to News Index ] |
|
