Bush may be highway bill's roadblock

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2004 | by Peronet Despeignes

CINCINNATI -- Good luck getting into, out of or through downtown during "rush hour," which is often anything but. The commute on Interstates 71 and 75 from the Ohio suburbs or from Kentucky across the 40-year-old Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River is getting worse, like the commutes in so many metro areas across the USA.

"One incident and you have a big backup -- typically seven or more across the area on any given day," says Don Garrett, traffic reporter for Metro Networks/Eyewitness News 5. From his helicopter 1,000 feet above the highways, Garrett broadcasts the daily litany of bottlenecks. A little rain, an accident or some construction can turn some stretches into 15-mile parking lots, he says.

Cincinnati is one of many increasingly congested U.S. cities,...