Governors tout discounted tolls for new Brent Spence bridge

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The governors of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday proposed a 50 percent discount on tolls for people who frequently commute across the Ohio River in an effort to accelerate plans to replace a decaying bridge that has become a symbol of the country’s infrastructure woes.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich made the announcement at a joint news conference in Covington. The governors said the states would equally share the $2.6 billion cost to replace the Brent Spence Bridge and pledged to come with a plan to reduce that cost by March 30.

But the plan would have to be approved by the Kentucky legislature, which has so far been unwilling approve tolls as a way to pay for the project.