Vehicular traffic across the Ohio River between Louisville and Southern Indiana had been served by the Clark (US-31) Bridge, which opened in the late 1920s, and the Sherman Minton (I-64) and Kennedy (I-65) Bridges, which were built in the early 1960s as part of the Interstate System. Long-range planning documents prepared in 1969, 1978, and 1993 subsequently proposed an additional river crossing, approximately eight miles to the east of the downtown bridges, to connect the I-265 beltway segments that had been built in both states. In 1996, a Major Investment Study recommended a "two-bridge solution" involving both a new downtown bridge to expand capacity on the congested I-65 and the new east end crossing, as well as the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange. A subsequent environmental review for the project was approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in September 2003.
As planning efforts proceeded, it became clear that using traditional Federal and state funding sources alone for the $4.1 billion project would require construction of the new roads and bridges to be staged sequentially and spread out over almost two decades. At the behest of the governors of both states, the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority, a bi-state authority, was created in 2009 and charged with developing a plan to finance and develop the project, including consideration of tolling both crossings and alternative project implementation options, including public-private partnerships, or "P3s."
Due to the rising costs on the project, Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky, Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana, and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced plans in January 2011 to explore alternative design and delivery options. The bi-state authority revisited the project design to reduce costs. The East End Bridge and approach roads, including the tunnel, were reduced from three to two lanes per direction, and the width of the new Downtown Crossing was also reduced. These changes lowered the cost of the Ohio River Bridges project to $2.6 billion. Given the scope of these changes and the introduction of tolling, further environmental review was required, which FHWA approved in June 2012.
In late 2012, the two states agreed on an innovative strategy to finance the overall project on a shared basis. The states would pursue separate procurements, with Kentucky taking responsibility for all elements of the Downtown Crossing and the interchange project in both states, and Indiana doing the same for the East End Crossing. Although the Kennedy Bridge was expected to produce a greater share of revenues, toll proceeds on the two bridges would be split evenly between the two states.