BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Mayor Roxanne Qualls and City Manager John Shirey talk with Ohio Gov. George Voinovich at Fountain Square for the kickoff of the Fort Washington Way project.
(Tony Jones photo)
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Sans pom-poms and cheerleaders, Thursday's kickoff of the Fort Washington Way reconstruction project in downtown Cincinnati had all the hallmarks of a pep rally.
There were the key players, including Gov. George Voinovich, Mayor Roxanne Qualls, Hamilton County Commissioner Tom Neyer Jr. and officials from both sides of the Ohio River lauding teamwork in planning the project. Then there was the palpable anxiety about beating an old foe -- Father Time -- as the city launches a roughly two-year project that some had said could have taken as long as five years.
And there was, of course, a band.
In all, about 200 gathered on Fountain Square for the official kickoff for the project, which will gradually get under way this month.
"It's one of the most important projects undertaken during my years as governor in this city and in the southwestern part of the state," Mr. Voinovich told reporters after an hourlong ceremony.
The governor was on hand for the presentation of checks. One was for $40 million, a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The other was for $20 million, a loan from the state.
The remaining money for the $146.9 million project will come from the city, Hamilton County, the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) and private donations.
The current look of Fort Washington Way.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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The project, which begins in earnest later this month, involves moving and straightening the four- to six-lane roadway and eliminating central downtown and riverfront exits. Those exits will be pushed to the east and west ends of the new eight-lane expressway. The new Fort Washington Way will continue to serve as a connector between Interstates 71 and 75, which currently carries about 150,000 vehicles daily.
Construction will conclude in August 2000 to coincide with the opening of the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront. In the meantime, only four lanes of traffic will be open throughout the construction period.
City Manager John Shirey acknowledged some of the sacrifices. "We are going to have some difficulties, no doubt about it, but we're trying to minimize those," Mr. Shirey said.
That includes a strong public relations campaign, which has included meeting with various downtown businesses to discuss alternate forms of travel, including mass transit and car-pooling during the construction period.
Thursday, Downtown Cincinnati Inc. officials announced they were working with the city on a plan to direct motorists to parking garages, which cost between $1 and $6 for the first three hours.
Part of the expressway overhaul calls for closing exits to the central riverfront and southern end of the business district. New exits will anchor the east and west ends of Fort Washington Way, and that means visitors and workers may need to find spots closer to their new routes.
"We're trying to establish new, familiar pathways into the city," said John Schneider, a DCI adviser on transportation and real estate development issues.
Plans are under way to post temporary signs and develop maps for drivers.
In the end, officials hope the new Fort Washington Way not only eases congestion, but also provides a link from Cincinnati to Covington and Newport.
The new highway will also eliminate an almost invisible barrier between the downtown and the riverfront. The goal is to re-create the feeling of a city on the river by extending streets as bridges across the highway and landscaping new Second and Third streets as tree-lined boulevards.
It will also create a natural connection to the football and baseball stadiums, as well as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
"It's going to facilitate the connection of downtown to the riverfront . . . ", Ms. Qualls said.
