Category: Transportation

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Development News Transportation

Construction Work Picking Up Steam on Streetcar’s $133M First Phase

Cobblestone Removal Along Elm Street

There has been a flurry of construction activity for the $133 million first phase of the Cincinnati Streetcar project including groundbreaking for the $11.9 million Maintenance & Operations Facility and the removal of cobblestones along Elm Street in preparation for the laying of new track in October.

It is important to note, however, that the existing cobblestones are being shipped off for storage and cleaning, and will be put back on Elm Street in a way to compliment the new streetcar track.

UrbanCincy technologist and contributing photographer, Travis Estell, has been out and about lately and has captured some of the recent work through his lens. The following 12 photos were taken over the past two weeks in Over-the-Rhine.

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Development News Transportation

Public Meetings Set for $200M Western Hills Viaduct Replacement

Over 55,000 vehicles traverse the storied Western Hills Viaduct. The iconic art deco era viaduct, constructed as part of the Cincinnati Union Terminal project in 1932 replaced the older Harrison Avenue Viaduct.

The viaduct last saw renovation in 1977, almost twenty years after the eastern section was demolished to make way for Interstate 75, but over the last few years a team of city, county and consultant engineers have been studying ways to repair or replace the aging bridge.

The city’s Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE), Hamilton County Engineer’s Office and URS are working together to determine the future replacement of the aging viaduct. The team will be hosting two public meetings on Thursday to engage adjacent property owners and frequent users of the bridge on the process of replacing the viaduct.

westernhillsviaduct-1-5The Western Hills Viaduct is one of a few crucial road connections to the west side of the city.
Photo by Jake Mecklenborg for UrbanCincy.

Because of the amount of repairs needed to maintain the existing viaduct, the team is not considering continuing the use of the existing viaduct. Instead the team is looking to build a new viaduct just south of the Western Hills Viaduct.

Richard Szekeresh, Principal Structural Engineer with DOTE told UrbanCincy that there are a number of other projects and factors that constrain the teams ability to determine a suitable relocation alignment; such as the rail yard operations below the bridge, the Metropolitan Sewer District’s (MSD’s) Lick Run Valley Conveyance System project, and Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s) proposed new connection bridge from I-75 to the viaduct which is part of the Brent Spence Bridge project must be factored into the new location.

Additionally because of hillside grade issues at the McMillan and Central Parkway intersection a new alignment north of the existing viaduct would be extremely challenging and more expensive.

The team is studying whether to pursue another double-decker bridge or a single level span as the replacement alternative. Some private property will be affected along Harrison Avenue and Central Parkway along with the existing rail yard below the viaduct. Additionally, the team is looking for input on bicycle lanes and other transportation alternative improvements.

The design team hopes to have the engineering completed and a preferred alignment selected by 2014. The cost of the viaduct replacement would be an estimated $200 million. No funding has been identified and the project is not part of the Brent Spence Bridge project, even though it is in the northern edge of that section of the I-75 reconstruction project area.

Both of Thursday’s sessions will be at Cincinnati City Hall. One will be from 4pm to 5:30pm and the other from 6pm to 7:30pm. City Hall is accessible by the #1, #6 and #49 Metro buses.

Szekeresh concluded,“Typically, due to the size, complexity, and cost associated with a project of this nature it is not unusual for it to take ten or more years to bring them to construction. We are still at the beginning of a long process.”

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News Transportation

Roxanne Qualls and School Officials Call for Pedestrian Improvements Near Schools

Walking does not seem like a difficult task for city residents where sidewalks are plentiful and signals control traffic allowing people to walk safely across the street. However; this is not always the case in neighborhoods around the city.

Some intersections lack basic improvements such as crosswalks, signals, good sidewalks or no sidewalks at all. These problems are likely a minor nuisance for experienced walkers but from the viewpoint of children who walk to school it could mean the difference between a safe walk to school and imminent danger.

One such problem intersection is the Five Points Intersection in Evanston. The intersection of Montgomery, Woodburn and St. Leger is already seeing redevelopment, as mentioned previously on UrbanCincy, however crosswalk enhancements aimed at making intersections like this easier to cross for school children have yet to be implemented.

Safe Routes
City leaders and school officials call for improvements to pedestrian networks around schools on August 26. Image provided.

According to Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Carmen Burks, about 85% of Evanston school children walk to school.

Last year the city received $1 million in grant funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) through the Safe Routes to Schools Program, which is aimed at encouraging students to walk to school through the development of walking school bus programs and by installing pedestrian improvements to make walking routes to school safer. The improvements must be within a mile of a school.

At the beginning of this school year, Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls (C) and CPS Superintendent Mary Ronan called for the city to finish implementing the pedestrian improvements listed from the grant.

The Five Points Intersection is among the 15 priority intersections on the list for improvement.

“If we had to give the implementation team a grade right now, it would be an ‘incomplete,’” Qualls said in a prepared statement.

Qualls says that she plans to introduce a motion directing the city administration to come back with a schedule for completing the remaining improvements before the beginning of the 2014 school year.

Ronan noted that the five-points intersection affects students from three schools – Evanston Academy, the Academy of World Languages, and Walnut Hills High School – with a combined enrollment of approximately 3,000 students.

“Many of these are relatively low-cost steps we can take to make big improvements in safety for our kids,” Qualls stated.

If all goes according to plan, work on the five-points intersection would likely begin next year and include new pedestrian signals. There is no time frame set for upgrades to the other 14 intersections identified for improvement.

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News Opinion Politics Transportation

Greg Landsman: Riding the Cincinnati Streetcar to Success

Downtown to Uptown Cincinnati Streetcar RouteWhether you were for or against the streetcar, here are the facts: contracts have been signed, millions spent, and construction is fully underway. The proverbial train has left the station. Now it is up to both public and private sector leaders to ensure that this new transportation system and driver of economic development is a success.

Like so many, I had been frustrated with the way in which this project had been managed. But with a new and serious project manager in place, my own pragmatism, and firm desire to see Cincinnati succeed mean that I and others get fully on board – and help lead.

To achieve success, the following must happen:

  1. We need a credible operating plan, and it needs private sector support. Taxpayers should not have to pay the full cost to run the streetcar, and with the right deal makers and plan, meaningful partnerships can get done.
  2. The streetcar has to go to Uptown (the Clifton and University of Cincinnati area). So, let’s make it happen. Businesses, property owners, and our institutional partners in Uptown could very well work with the City to ensure the Uptown Connector (Phase 1B) not only happens, but happens as soon as possible.

If elected in November, I pledge to focus on getting the streetcar up the hill to Uptown, not to mention a credible, privately-supported operating plan in place. In fact, I believe we should have a framework for both plans within months, not years.

The work will not end here, of course, and our entire transportation system needs updated. The streetcar should be a catalyst for transforming our transportation system, one that better connects people to jobs and where they want to go – and does so faster.

Cincinnati is on the verge of a major comeback, but long-term growth is not inevitable. Our momentum is real but fragile, and the decisions we make now will determine whether or not Cincinnati is a great city again. Getting the streetcar right, and to Uptown, will be critical. Failure is not an option.

Greg Landsman is a Democratic candidate for Cincinnati City Council. He is currently the executive director for the Strive Partnership, a non-profit dedicated to improving public education, and previously served in the Ted Strickland (D) administration. If you would like to have your thoughts published on UrbanCincy you can do so by submitting your guest editorial to urbancincy@gmail.com.

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Business Development News Politics Transportation

Nearly $4B in Work Progresses in Decade-Long Reconstruction of I-75 Through Hamilton County

I-75 Construction Work at Mitchell Avenue (August 2013)

In the early 2000s the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) developed plans to widen and modernize Interstate 75 between the Ohio River and Interstate 275.

The $531.7 million Millcreek Expressway Project was slow to commence because of state and federal funding problems related to declining gasoline tax revenue. In 2009 a $7 million overpass connecting Monmouth Street and Central Parkway (Phase 2) received federal stimulus funding and, without ceremony, kicked off what will be a decade of continuous construction.

ODOT began reconstruction of I-75 in and around the Mitchell Avenue Interchange (Phase 1) in 2012. As of August 2013, all new retaining walls have been completed, the replacement Mitchell Avenue and Clifton Avenue overpasses are each about halfway completed, and final pavement has been poured on two access ramps.

The $53 million Phase 1 makes provisions for widening I-75 to four lanes in each direction, but the expressway will not actually be widened until Phase 5 rebuilds the I-74/75 interchange near Cincinnati State Technical & Community College.

Reconstruction of the Hopple Street Interchange (Phase 4), meanwhile, began earlier this year and as of August 2013 has taken on the chaotic character typical of urban expressway widenings. This project will radically remake the area, with Hopple Street passing for the first time above Central Parkway to meet W. Martin Luther King Drive at grade.

While most of the buildings near this interchange have been acquired and demolished, the nearby White Castle restaurant will remain unaffected as a “jug handle” is built around its south and eastern property lines.

Although the overall widening and modernization work was thought to have been delayed, the program received a boost thanks to the Ohio Turnpike.

On July 22, 2013 Governor John Kasich (R) announced that $350 million of work on remaining phases of the Millcreek Expressway reconstruction project will be funded by the sale of bonds to be repaid by future excess Ohio Turnpike tolls.

Additionally, Kasich pledged $100 million in Turnpike funds to build a new interchange connecting I-71 and E. Martin Luther King Drive.

When combined with the $463.5 million Thru The Valley project and $2.7 billion Brent Spence Bridge project, the reconstruction efforts along I-75 through Hamilton County totals some $3.7 billion in work and are expected to continue for the next decade.