Since engineers redesigned Queen City Avenue seven years ago, four cars have plunged into Mill Creek from a dead end on Queen City Avenue, including the weekend crash that killed four people and hospitalized another.
There have been at least five crashes at the dead end since 2021, an Enquirer review of state crash data found, with one driver avoiding the water.
Now, Cincinnati traffic engineers are looking at ways to make that dead end and a stretch of road that feeds drivers into it safer.
Greg Long, interim director for the city's department of transportation and engineering, said in a statement his team is "rapidly responding" to the stretch of Queen City Avenue between Harrison Avenue and Mill Creek. Long said the road had been identified
as a problem spot prior to this past weekend's crash.
Engineers redesigned Queen City Avenue during a multi-million dollar sewer project in 2019. After that traffic change, part of the road became a two-way, making it easier for drivers to mistakenly continue straight directly toward the Mill Creek dead end.
On Saturday, Aug. 15., police say a car with five passengers went down the dead end, struck a guardrail at the end of the road and dropped into the creek below. The car flipped over and rested underwater. Only one passenger survived the crash.
In each case of drivers crashing at the dead end, Cincinnati police have said drivers lost control, either because of excessive speed, impairment or distracted driving, according to crash reports. The crashes have been both during the day and at night.
The drop into Mill Creek is about 55 feet, one report noted. Four drivers struck the guardrail and still entered the waterway. One driver struck the guardrail and was able to come to a stop in a gravel parking lot at the end of the road.
Traffic engineers 'actively investigating' road
Long said his department's traffic engineering team is "actively investigating" the stretch of road.
Changes to improve safety are expected in the days ahead, which could include a more robust guardrail and more warning signals ahead of the end of the road, Long said.
Right now, the road has no double-yellow lines, parking on both sides and a "no outlet" sign at the start of the dead end. The street, which is located directly in front of a city facilities building, ends in a gravel parking lot with a small guardrail.
"Once our engineers' research is done, we'll put in a work order and a safety change will be implemented," Long said.
Queen City Avenue is nearby the Western Hills Viaduct, which is due for replacement in the years ahead. While all of the design work is still on-going, it's possible the dead end and the intersection of State Avenue and Queen City Avenue may be redesigned.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: City seeks to make problem dead end safer after fatal Mill Creek crash
