BY LISA DONOVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The ever-shrinking Fort Washington Way will give drivers their first taste this week of what it will be like to navigate downtown Cincinnati's expressway during its two-year overhaul.
On Saturday workers permanently closed eastbound entrance ramps at Main, Race and Walnut streets. The closure includes a connection from the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge to the expressway.
Crews will continue to work today on the narrow detour route for east-west traffic, which will be in the expressway's eastbound lanes.
"Even though the detour won't be in place this week, driving in those (narrow) lanes is going to give drivers a feel for what it's going to be like for the next two years," said John Deatrick, a city engineer who is overseeing the project.
Because of the narrower lanes, a "wide vehicle ban" took effect Saturday for the eastbound lanes, and enforcement will begin Monday. Vehicles wider than 7 feet, mainly commercial trucks and buses, will have to bypass the expressway.
The lanes have been reduced from 11 feet to 9 feet, which, Mr. Deatrick said, makes a dramatic difference because many commercial trucks have 8-foot widths.
Motorists who worry that their cars might be too large are encouraged to measure the bumper width or the span of their front tires, said Mr. Deatrick. Most cars are less than 6 feet wide.
Police said the ban will be strictly enforced beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, and violators will be cited for "ignoring a traffic control device." The normal fine is $76, but it doubles if the offense occurs in a construction zone, project planners said.
Cincinnati police will be looking for "obvious" offenders such as large trucks, said police spokesman Lt. Roger Wolf.
"I don't think we're going to get into pulling cars over and measuring them," said Lt. Wolf.
Already the expressway is going to be cramped, and Lt. Wolf said officers will have to use discretion when they want to pull someone over.
"If they have to wait until after Fort Washington Way to pull them over, then that's going to have to happen," he said. Police also were planning to hand out fliers at truck stops and rest areas warning of the ban, said Don Gindling, a city engineer and construction manager for the project.
Signs have also been posted on interstate overheads within the Interstate 275 beltway to let motorists know about the ban. 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.
Crews began closing lanes and exits this week and will continue through the end of the month to prepare a detour route that will serve motorists during the nearly two-year construction period.
Alternate routes for vehicles wider than 7 feet include:
The 7th Street exit from Interstate 75 southbound and the new ramp at 5th Street for Interstate 75 northbound.
Trucks traveling east on U.S. 50 to southbound Interstate 471 or eastbound U.S. 52 may use the Gest Street exit from the Sixth Street viaduct. Signs will be posted to direct trucks east on Gest to eastbound Pete Rose Way and then to Levee Way and the ramp connection to U.S. 50 eastbound and Interstate 471. Trucks using U.S. 52 east may continue east on Fort Washington Way.
Project planners suggest motorists traveling in the region use the Ronald Reagan Highway (Ohio 126), the Norwood Lateral (Ohio 562), Interstate 471 and Interstate 275 as alternatives to Fort Washington Way.
