Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear along with local officials Monday morning celebrated the completion of Section 1 of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing project, harping on the on the total team effort it’s taken to get there.
“We’re doing it all together,” Beshear said at the ribbon cutting for the $158 million first piece of the project.
The governor added the project is not one of red or blue, Republican or Democrat, “but as Kentuckians first.”
“We’re showing the United States of America exactly how it’s done,” he said.
The first section is part of a total project that will have its crowning moment when eventually a $1 billion bridge links Henderson and Evansville and become a connection in the interstate that will run from Canada to Mexico.
Beshear also pointed out that it’s been a bit more than three years from when the groundbreaking for Section 1 occurred, in June 2022, and since then, a massive amount of work has taken place. He said the project will only serve to enhance economic development in the region and will leave a “lasting legacy” so that children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have the opportunity to stay in this area of Kentucky to pursue their dreams.
Beshear also thanked U.S. reps Brett Guthrie and James Comer, and U.S. senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell as well as local state Sen. Robby Mills and state Rep. J.T. Payne for their work in supporting the project.
By Monday, Nov. 10, the final three major elements of the project are expected to open to traffic. One is the new Ky. 3690, which is the section of I-69 from the exit off to “the Curve” to U.S. 60-East. Also next week, the U.S. 60 interchange will be in final configuration and the U.S. 41 interchange will be in full operation, said a release from I-69 ORX.
Like Beshear and local officials who followed, Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider also handed out many thanks to those who’ve worked on Section 1, from local state elected officials to the local team of the I-69 ORX project, including media spokesperson Mindy Peterson and project manager Emily Deason—and also community advocate Joe Hopper, who died recently and was a member of the Bridgelink group and a supporter of the I-69 project.
He also gave kudos to contractor Ragle team members who worked through rain, snow, sleet, ice and floods.
Henderson Mayor Brad Staton expressed similar thoughts, saying that the Section 1’s completion shows that no matter who you are or what you believe, “this is what can happen when people work together.”
Finally, Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry said Henderson and Evansville have always shared a connection and the project is “bigger than any one community or any one state.” The project, she said, is “about strengthening those ties that already bind us.”
Walking the roadway
Later that afternoon, I-69 ORX invited the community to come to walk the stretch of roadway before it opens next week. Several community members said they were excited for the roadway to open.
Mary Meredith, who lives in Wolf Hills, said the road’s opening will shave some 15 minutes off her drives to get to appointments and also to her in-laws in the Lakes area of western Kentucky.
She also said she believes the roadway’s opening will relieve some of the traffic pressure that has built up on Green Street.
That sentiment was supported by Tony Gish, who predicted the roadway will help a lot of people in Wolf Hills and Braxton Park and the Spottsville area, where he lives, get to places in town more quickly.
Gish, accompanied by his granddaughter Maddie Barrett, said his walking the roadway was a bit personal. His father, Jim Gish, was a contractor out of the operating engineers who helped worked on the construction of the southbound Twin Bridge and also a section of the Pennyrile Parkway from Henderson to Madisonville. Before his father passed about 20 years ago, he often talked about the coming of I-69, Gish said.
“He talked about it all the time,” he said. “He always hoped it would be here.”
Randy Adams, of Owensboro, said he’s been following the work on the I-69 ORX website and was excited for the project.
“It’s just nice to see progress,” he said.
Finally, Heather Salisbury provided a humorous perspective why she came out to walk the interstate.
“The last time I walked on an interstate, I had a flat tire,” she said.
She said she’s “loved the project from the beginning.” And she’s looking forward to walking the bridge when it’s completed, something her husband, David, said occurred after a bridge was completed in Chattanooga.
“We’re planning on it,” they said.
What’s next
Currently, Section 3, which is the runup to the bridge on the Indiana side, is in full gear. Last week, I-69 ORX sent a release that said 48 concrete beams ranging in length from 134 feet to 163 feet long were scheduled to start being delivered on Monday and go through Friday, Nov. 21. According to the I-69 ORX website, Section 3 will be complete in late 2026.
That’s about the same time when the contract for construction of the almost $1 billion Section 2, which includes the bridge, will be awarded. Months later in early 2027, construction on Section 2 will begin with a scheduled completion date in 2031, according to I-69 ORX.
Deason, who Beshear noted Monday was recently named the Young Civil Engineer of the Year by the University of Kentucky, will again be the project manager for Section 2. Peterson will also stay in her spot as spokesperson.
Funding has not yet been determined while many local and state officials look to the federal government to see the amount of dollars it will provide.
State Sen. Robby Mills said Monday that what is leftover after federal funds are appropriated will be split evenly by Kentucky and Indiana. Mills said he feels good that some announcement involving federal funding will occur in the next several months, especially after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy came to Henderson in September.
Duffy came to see the project and speak at a press conference, saying then that the role of federal government is to invest in these “big projects.”
Mills said Kentucky has all but $60 million in funding needed for its half if the federal government does not provide any.
The state senator, meanwhile, said he was also excited for the project and the possibilities it brings. He said he believes the next 20-30 years will see a great deal of development along this stretch, comparable to what has occurred with I-65 in Bowling Green.
