The first ramp closings on Fort Washington Way tested motorists Tuesday.
Traffic planners said they passed with flying colors.
"Things went very well this morning, much to everybody's surprise," Bob Bross, general manager of SmartRoute, the operator of the SmarTraveler Information Service, said Tuesday.
But drivers were still anxious.
"How do I get home?" said Ruth Wesner, an Anderson Township resident who works downtown.
Ms. Wesner often drives to work by taking Interstate 275 to I-471 to downtown's Sixth Street exit. "I had no holdup at all," Ms. Wesner said.
During the afternoon drive home, many commuters found it slow going, said David Leonard, an operations supervisor with SmartRoute. From about 4:30 to 6 p.m., traffic was slowed where southbound I-75 merges with northbound I-71 traffic onto eastbound Fort Washington Way. Once drivers got through the congested areas, they found clear roads, he said.
Traffic engineers said they can't readily determine whether summer vacations have affected the number of cars.
The first ramp closings meant fewer exits for those trying to get to the downtown and riverfront, and fewer lanes for those passing through.
That meant a few problems:
Traffic on southbound I-75, particularly in the left lanes, was stopped between Fort Washington Way and Ezzard Charles Drive.
Traffic in the two right lanes on northbound I-71 - 75, just south of the Brent Spence Bridge and the feeder ramp onto Fort Washington Way, was slow or stopped.
Inbound Columbia Parkway traffic was heavier than normal, likely because commuters thought the closings affected southbound I-71, leading into the downtown and riverfront.
For I-75 commuters heading south into downtown, it was smooth sailing if they used the Seventh Street exit. But the Fifth Street exit off I-75 was jammed during morning rush hour.
Meanwhile, the newly built Fifth Street exit off northbound I-75 -- just after the Brent Spence Bridge -- had little traffic. Because access to the exit is limited to bridge traffic, it's not going to be heavily used, Mr. Bross said.
Crews are closing lanes and exits this week and through the month to prepare a detour route that will serve motorists during the nearly two-year construction period.
That'll eventually pose a real problem.
John Hoskins, a driver for Around the Clock Taxi Cabs,questioned how the project will affect access to downtown when all ramps are closed, nearly all permanently.
"It was bad out there," Mr. Hoskins said. And as more lanes close, "It's only going to get worse."
The $146.9 million overhaul of Fort Washington Way involves moving and straightening the four- to six-lane road and eliminating central downtown and riverfront exits. It is scheduled to reopen in August 2000, in time for the opening of the new Paul Brown Stadium.
