BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fort Washington Way planners hope completion of the new southbound Interstate 71 exit ramp onto Eggleston Avenue will ease backups that sometimes stretch more than a mile.
The Eggleston exit, off the exit to Interstate 471, is expected to open by Monday.
Work on the project at times has forced crews to restrict the I-471 exit traffic to one lane, backing up motorists as far as Taft Road, said Linda Roll, a supervisor for Smart- Route Systems Inc., a traffic monitoring firm.
That congestion should ease as work is completed on the new exit, said John Deatrick, the city engineer overseeing Fort Washington Way reconstruction.
The Eggleston exit will provide new access into downtown, he said, and will counter the closings of Fort Washington Way westbound ramps this weekend.
The work is part of a $146.9 million overhaul to Fort Washington Way slated for completion in August 2000.
Over the weekend, traffic will be shifted onto the eastbound lanes of Fort Washington Way as construction crews rebuild the westbound section of the downtown highway.
