One direction of Fort Washington Way in downtown Cincinnati will be shut down for 18 months as part of the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project.
That's because, starting next spring, drivers from Kentucky will find northbound trips on Interstate 71 diverted.
Drivers heading north of Cincinnati will need to hop on Interstate 275 near Crestview Hills in Northern Kentucky, then catch Interstate 471 near Highland Heights to pick up I-71.
Here's the latest on what will be a major change to traffic patterns as the $4.4 billion-plus bridge project continues.
Eastbound Fort Washington Way will be offline 18 months, too
Northbound I-71 traffic will need a new way over the river as crews reconstruct where I-71 and I-75 split apart. Brent Spence carries both interstates, splitting at about Pete Rose Way in downtown
Cincinnati.
"Every single connection has to be rebuilt," said Matt Bruning, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
That includes I-71's connection to Fort Washington Way, a 1-mile sunken span of the interstate that runs from about Central Avenue on the west end of downtown to Main Street on the east.
And that means eastbound Fort Washington Way will go offline for about the same time as I-71 is diverted to I-471.
Other Downtown ramps affected too
Ramps from I-75 south and U.S. 50 east to Fort Washington Way will also close during that time.
So will a ramp from westbound Fort Washington Way to northbound I-75. That piece of the work will take about two years.
Overall westbound travel on Fort Washington Way will otherwise be maintained, according to Tommy Arnold, project manager for Ohio transportation. A full but temporary pause on westbound Fort Washington Way will follow in a few years, he said.
One highway won't close during the bridge project
The good news: I-75 will stay open through the project, Arnold said.
Short-term I-75 closures for bridge work – like the currently underway Linn Street Bridge – will happen overnight or on weekends, he said.
The project calls for new overpasses at Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth streets and Ezzard Charles Drive.
Drivers have options to travel north on I-71
Depending on their destination, drivers have other options for getting back on northbound I-71 once they cross the Ohio. They can travel northbound I-75 to:
- Norwood Lateral (State Route 562) east, then catch I-71.
- Ronald Reagan Highway (State Route 126) east to connect to I-71.
- The northside loop of I-275, then travel east to I-71.
I-471 will get more lanes where it connects to I-71 in Cincinnati. Those will be created by restriping existing lanes, not building new ones.
Weather, river, design approach impact timing
Transportation officials expect to know when the northbound I-71 changes will kick in by November or December.
That's because of its size and scope – "It is a transformative, massive project," Arnold said – and because under a "design-build" approach to the project, construction schedules are not locked in.
"There's a lot of time between now and spring," Arnold said.
Bad weather and a rising river could also impact construction, he said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bridge project to divert I-71, close Fort Washington Way for 18 months
