BY LARA BECKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It looks intimidating: Orange barrels dot Fort Washington Way's westbound lanes. Familiar exit ramps are closed. Concrete barriers are all that separate motorists in either direction.
But if city traffic engineers are right, looks will be deceiving.
"It's going to be a little congested (today)," said Don Gindling, a city of Cincinnati engineer serving as construction manager for the project. "But once people find their way, it'll settle down."
For motorists making their first trek downtown since the changes were completed over the weekend, the biggest change will be the closing of the westbound lanes. Two lanes of traffic in each direction have been rerouted onto what were the eastbound lanes.
Rush hour may contribute to the usual traffic jam, Mr. Gindling said, but commuters who pay attention to signs should have relatively little trouble navigating the roadway.
The only exits into downtown still open are on the western and eastern edges of the city. The eastbound Pete Rose Way ramp to the riverfront remains open, and the new Eggleston Avenue ramp provides a different path to downtown on its eastern edge.
The Eggleston Avenue exit is newly paved, "a pretty nice exit," Mr. Gindling said. But it's not directly accessible from Interstate 71. "The only tricky part is you've got to get off at the Interstate 471 exit before you get off at Eggleston Avenue," he said.
Fort Washington Way ramps that closed permanently include: Vine Street - Covington, Elm and Third streets, Sycamore and Third streets, and Pike Street.
For the next 18 months, two other arteries connecting to Fort Washington Way will be closed: the loop ramp from I-471 northbound to Fort Washington Way westbound and the ramp from Columbia Parkway westbound to Fort Washington Way westbound.
That means people driving southbound on I-71 should exit at Reading Road and Gilbert Avenue or at Eggleston Avenue.
From I-471 northbound, use the Sixth Street or Liberty Street exits.
From Columbia Parkway westbound, take the Sixth Street exit and Fifth Street viaduct to Fourth Street or the Eggleston Avenue exit.
Southbound and northbound traffic on Interstate 75 can use the Fifth Street exit.
