ODOT installs drone-in-a-box systems to monitor Brent Spence Bridge Corridor construction
Docked on the roof of Longworth Hall in Cincinnati, the aircraft can launch remotely, fly pre-programmed routes and return to recharge on their own. The Ohio UAS Center installed its first system in Springfield in 2025 before bringing the technology to the $4.05 billion bridge project.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has installed drone-in-a-box systems on the roof of Longworth Hall in Cincinnati to monitor construction of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project, according to DriveOhio, the department's smart mobility program.
Two permanent docks now sit on the roof, and ODOT pilots launch the drones remotely, State Aviation Journal reported Oct. 5. The aircraft send live visuals to the project team and are also used for bridge inspection and traffic insights. The report described Brent Spence as the largest construction project in ODOT history.
How it works
A drone-in-a-box system keeps the aircraft at a permanent docking site. Operators can launch it and fly it remotely to collect project information. The drone can also fly a pre-programmed route on its own and return to the dock to charge, DriveOhio explained in its March newsletter.
The systems belong to the Ohio UAS Center. DriveOhio noted that bringing in drones at the earliest stage of construction gives crews accurate, real-time information for site planning, inspection and project management.
By the numbers
- $4.05 billion construction contract for the first portion of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project
- $4.39 billion total cost including design and engineering
- More than $1.6 billion in federal grants
- 8 miles in the full corridor, with the remaining work to be estimated later
- About 6 million work hours
- 700+ skilled tradespeople expected to work on the project, with the workforce potentially reaching 1,000 at peak
- 2031 expected opening of the new companion bridge
- 2033 expected substantial completion of the approach work
The site
Longworth Hall is a 1904 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ODOT acquired it in 2023 through the right-of-way process, and it now houses the project team from ODOT, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Walsh Kokosing.
Crews began demolishing a roughly 200-foot section of the building, a 1960s addition, this spring to make way for the companion bridge, which will be built next to the existing Brent Spence Bridge. Govs. Mike DeWine of Ohio and Andy Beshear of Kentucky broke ground on the project in May.
ODOT installed its first drone-in-a-box system at the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence in Springfield in 2025. At the time, DriveOhio reported that the system would be integrated into a large ODOT construction project the following year. The systems went onto the Longworth Hall roof in March 2026.
ODOT's drone program
The Ohio UAS Center, formed in 2013, has a fleet of nearly 100 drones, along with a sonar-equipped uncrewed boat for underwater pier inspections and a robot dog for culvert inspections, according to DriveOhio.
ODOT has more than 40 certified drone operators across the state and uses the aircraft for bridge inspections, construction monitoring, mapping and emergency response, according to a customer profile published by drone maker Skydio.
