Adam RollinsThe states of Kentucky and Indiana are moving forward with a newly approved development agreement to construct a new bridge spanning the Ohio river, connecting the cities of Henderson and Evansville. The $933 million Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing (ORX) project is expected to begin construction in 2027.
The I-69 bridge will be the project’s next step, building off progress made during the first phase that began in 2022. The Section 2 project will build a four-lane river crossing that will be owned equally by Kentucky and Indiana.
With the new Bi-State Development Agreement signed between the two states, a framework has been established to support a cooperative approach for financing, procurement, development, construction and delivery of both the bridge and Veterans Memorial Parkway interchange. After the new bridge is built, the existing US 41 SB bridge will be demolished.
Construction on the project’s first and third sections are already underway. Section 1 focused on enhancing approach infrastructure to the upcoming bridge on Kentucky’s side of the river. This portion of the project is in-progress and will expand I-69 by more than six miles, build nine bridges, rehabilitate seven bridges, reconstruct an existing interchange and build two new interchanges.
Similar work has also already begun in Section 3 on Indiana’s side of the corridor. The state will make improvements to the road leading up to the bridge, including approach roadways, approach bridges, widening of the embankment along I-69 and a bridge over the floodplain.
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