BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The biggest parts of the overhaul of downtown Cincinnati's expressway will be put out for bid Tuesday.
Though he could not give an exact dollar amount, Fred Craig, a chief consultant on the Fort Washington Way project said the contract is worth "tens of millions of dollars."
The general contractor who wins the bid will oversee:
Construction of the new roadway between Broadway and Elm streets. Demolition of the westbound lanes; eastbound lanes will be used during the construction season.
Construction of retaining walls framing the east-west connector. Demolition and reconstruction of the Main, Walnut, Vine and Race street bridges over Fort Washington Way and construction of an Elm Street bridge. All the bridges will stretch over Fort Washington Way, linking Third Street to a new Second Street.
Work on the $146.9 million city project is set for July. The new Fort Washington Way's lanes will be narrower, but the road will go from four and six lanes to eight.
In addition, the central downtown and riverfront exit and entrance ramps on the expressway will be closed. To get into downtown, motorists will have to use a new northbound exit on I-75 that will feed into Fifth Street or a new southbound exit for I-71 traffic that will feed onto Eggleston Avenue via the I-471 ramp.
Planners say the new Fort Washington Way will be a safer and more efficient method of routing motorists near downtown. The expressway carries an estimated 140,000 vehicles daily.
Construction will conclude in August 2000 to coincide with the opening of the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront. A prebid meeting for the project is planned for 10 a.m. July 2 at Cincinnati City Hall, 801 Plum St., Room 324.
The bid deadline is July 14, Mr. Craig said.
