Cincinnati-area public transit advocates are suing federal and state officials over the environmental review of the $3.6-billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project between Ohio and Kentucky, saying the Federal Highway Administration ignored “significant impacts on the human environment.”

The group, Devou Good Project Inc., is asking a federal judge to declare that the agencies and officials violated the National Environmental Policy Act by overlooking health and environmental impacts when it issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) instead of preparing a full environmental impact statement. They also want the judge to vacate the finding and any agreements authorizing the use of federal funding for the project, and to issue injunctions barring any work on the project until the issues have been addressed.

The plan calls for construction of a new two-level, five-lane-per-deck highway bridge carrying Interstate 71 and 75 over the Ohio River to the immediate west of the Brent Spence Bridge, which would then be reconfigured to carry local traffic between Covington, Ky., and Cincinnati. Five miles of I-71/75 in Kentucky would be widened and a new collector-distributor road system would be built along part of it. And in Ohio, about 3 miles of I-75 would be reconstructed and widened. 

Officials first prepared an environmental assessment related to an earlier version of the project in 2012, and issued a FONSI that same year. Federal Highway Administration officials underwent a supplemental assessment this year and released another FONSI in May. 

However, Devou Good Project says the FONSI overlooks impacts highlighted in the supplemental assessment. The group said in a statement that it decided to file its suit “after considering the devastating future and current environmental impacts of the project, including the disproportionate negative health effects on minority communities from increased air pollution, noise pollution and flooding, along with the removal of wetlands and forests and destruction of habitat for endangered species.”

The group says in its suit that officials failed to consider alternatives such as investing in public transit or adding tolls to reduce traffic crossing the river.

So far, none of the defendants have responded to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Cincinnati Oct. 15. In a statement, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said a priority of the project is “to provide an inclusive process that enhances surrounding communities while delivering a project that will bring safer, less congested travel, and job opportunities to the region” but declined to share more because of the pending suit. The Ohio Dept. of Transportation declined to comment, and U.S. Dept. of Transportation representatives did not immediately respond to inquiries. 

The states already selected Walsh Kokosing Design-Build Team as the contractor for the first and largest phase of the project, which covers the bridge itself, part of the Ohio side work and all of the Kentucky side work. Construction is scheduled to start next year and be completed in 2030, though the suit could alter that planned timeline.