BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Drivers who envisioned extensive gridlock on downtown streets before the Fort Washington Way closings started have been pleasantly surprised.
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NO TRAFFIC UNTIL 10 A.M.
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Fort Washington Way will be closed until 10 a.m. today while crews complete demolition of the former Dixie Terminal bridge.
Friday night, crews hammered all the concrete from the span. Saturday night, the road closed at midnight so crews could cut away the remaining steel support girders.
Most drivers took early exits to avoid the closed road. Eastbound traffic that wandered close to the closed part of the highway was routed onto Pete Rose Way. Westbound traffic was shunted to the I-471 - Eggleston Avenue exit.
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While they found plenty of brake lights and clogged intersections on Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets after construction started, it's become a little less congested in the past week.
"The first week traffic was totally out of balance," said Steve Bailey, Cincinnati traffic engineer. "After two weeks, things settle down and become more spread out. . . . If a street backs up and people see it, they start jumping off the interstate earlier."
Commuters have been experimenting with routes since almost all the exits from Fort Washington Way into downtown closed Aug. 1 for a two-year construction project. In 2000, the expressway that stretches from the Brent Spence Bridge through the Lytle Tunnel will be a narrower, safer roadway.
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FWW AT GOCINCINNATI
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For traffic reports updated every three minutes, detour maps and more, visit
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From Northern Kentucky, Ron Ellinghausen changed his route from Taylor Mill to downtown. He used to take the Interstate 471 bridge; now he cuts through downtown Covington and takes the Roebling Suspension Bridge.
It's added about five minutes to his commute.
"It's not a horrible amount of time," said Mr. Ellinghausen, 37, who works for American Airlines at Fourth and Walnut streets. "But it used to be all interstate. Now I have to deal with red lights. . . . It's been a pain."
From Blue Ash, Andy Kahn used to take Interstate 71 and exit at Third and Elm streets. Now he takes Ronald Reagan Highway west to Interstate 75 south to the Seventh Street exit.
"If it has added any time, I haven't noticed," said Mr. Kahn, 26, who works for LaSalle Partners on Vine Street. "I really thought the city was going to be in a lock-in like New York or Los Angeles."
From Hyde Park, Rick Hudson used to take Interstate 71 to the the Vine Street exit to get to his office on Fourth Street. After experimenting with routes, he settled on exiting at the Reading Road and Gilbert Avenue exit and takes Liberty Street west across town.
"The farther north I go, the faster I'm moving," said Mr. Hudson 29, who works at Student Loan Funding-Corp. "There are a lot of options. I thought it would be worse."
Fourth and Sixth streets are still seeing heavier traffic. In a trip that took about 10 minutes from east to west during Friday's peak morning rush hour, it took about five minutes to head west to east on Fifth and Seventh streets.
While traffic has increased on Eighth and Ninth streets, the routes are still faster. Also, the Reading Road and Gilbert Avenue ramp off Interstate 71 and Central Parkway are still good options.
Police haven't had to add extra officers to handle the traffic, said Sgt. Dick Newsom, assigned to District 1's first shift. About seven to eight officers are downtown during the peak rush hour from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
On Friday, two officers made sure cars at the eastern end of Sixth Street weren't causing gridlock by going through a green light when they didn't have enough room to clear the intersection.
"Things are going as well as can be expected with major construction," Sgt. Newsom said. "It's a little better than everyone thought it would be."
But many fear things haven't entirely settled down. Traffic after Labor Day may be another test on downtown roads when people go back to school and people return from vacation.
"It's much improved right now . . . but we think there's a lot of people on vacation right now," said John Deatrick, Fort Washington Way project engineer. "We won't stop our vigilance."
