Thursday, March 25, 1999
I-71 in Warren will be bottleneck
For 12 miles, just one lane will be open
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — Rodnie Waugh is preparing for road rage. Steve Wilmot is plotting another route. Truckers and commuters who rely on Interstate 71 in Warren County are bracing for some of the worst traffic backups in the Tristate this spring.
Starting April 5, about 12 miles of I-71 from Ohio 48 to Ohio 73 will be closed to one lane each way for seven months of rebuilding and repaving.
“There's going to be a lot of mad drivers,” Mr. Waugh said. “People go hyper in that kind of traffic.”
Of the Ohio Department of Transportation's 11 construction projects in this corner of the state, the work on I-71 in Warren County “is probably going to be our worst as far as traffic delays,” Public Information Officer Kim Patton said.
On weekends, ODOT is anticipating three miles of back-ups. Roughly, that translates into 20 or 25 minutes of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Rush hour will clog that portion of the interstate, which carries about 35,000 cars a day. And during special events, such as the Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg, the best option might be an alternate route.
That won't be easy. There's no other direct route, so avoiding the construction comes with a price of increased mileage.
Cities such as Lebanon, Springboro and Waynesville could see an increase in traffic on already well-traveled roads as drivers map out detours.
While Mr. Wilmot plans to take Ohio 73 to I-71 and then head south, Gary Hughes of Wilmington said another route doesn't make sense for him. He'll battle the traffic on his trips to Cincinnati to pick up supplies and suffer the extra hour of driving.
His only solace: “It'll be worth it when it's done.”
The $16 million reconstruction is the result of wear and tear.
“The life of an interstate is only so long, and things have to be maintained and improved,” said Judi Craig, marketing and communications manager with the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI).
Warren County's explosive growth prompted a second project on I-71 just four miles south. The second-fastest growing county in the state saw its population increase 28 percent since 1990, from 113,927 to an estimated 146,033 in 1998.
From 1986 to 1994, the number of cars passing I-275 on I-71 jumped 50 percent, to a daily count of 77,130.
As a result, widening I-71 to three lanes in northern Hamilton County and southern Warren County is ODOT's top construction priority in the state, Mrs. Patton said.
“The traffic congestion is terrible,” she said.
This second I-71 project, budgeted at $25 million, calls for transforming the grassy median on I-71 from I-275 to Western Row Road into an additional lane in both directions. Next summer, the project expands from Western Row to Ohio 48.
The good news for drivers on this part of the interstate is that both lanes are expected to be open throughout the project.
Mrs. Patton said the contract with builders L.P. Cavett Co. in Cincinnati stipulates all lanes must be open on the three holiday weekends, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. And there's an incentive for early completion. The contractor can earn up to $1.125 million for finishing before the target date of Oct. 31. Each day early translates into a $15,000 bonus; each day late means a $15,000 penalty.
OKI and ODOT are encouraging commuters to rely on other forms of transportation, from ride-sharing to buses to telecommuting.
“Until people start taking advantage of the alternatives, we're going to keep seeing more and more increases in congestion,” Ms. Craig said.
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