Wednesday, June 30, 1999
I-71 relief coming, sooner or later
Widening to start near jammed-up Fields Ertel Road
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The long-awaited widening of Interstate 71 near Fields Ertel and Paramount's Kings Island is about to get under way.
Commuters returning to work after the July 4th weekend will find construction crews working on a two-year project to improve traffic flow on I-71 south of Interstate 275 north to Western Row Road.
As houses and jobs continue to push northward from Cincinnati, the two-lane stretch of interstate has been notorious for backups. Getting on to I-71 from some Fields Ertel Road area business parks can take as long as 30 minutes during the 5 p.m. rush hour.
“It's terrible,” said Karen Jansen, who moved to Mason about 21/2 years ago. “They definitely need to widen it.”
And when the $33 million project is done in July 2001, drivers will have a third lane in each direction, plus an additional fourth lane for entering and exiting the highway. The ramps at Mason-Montgomery and Fields Ertel roads will also be widened to two lanes.
“It's a congested area and we're hoping the project will relieve a lot of the problems,” said Larry Weisman, construction engineer for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Lebanon office.
An estimated 55,534 vehicles use I-71 at Fields Ertel each day. That's a 30 percent increase since 1990.
While the 7.6 miles is under construction, ODOT will try not to close any lanes during peak rush hours or special events. But, drivers should plan to give themselves extra time.
“If it normally takes five minutes to get through the area, plan on taking 10 minutes,” Mr. Weisman said.
During construction:
• Two 11-foot-wide lanes (a foot less than normal) will be open in each direction most of the time. Traffic can be restricted to one lane only from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. During special events — including the ATP tennis tournament — lanes will be reduced from midnight to 5 a.m.
• Speed limit is reduced to 55 mph, from 65 mph. Speeding fines are doubled in the area.
• The Deerfield Road overpass needs to be replaced and is scheduled to close July 12 through May. But Mr. Weisman said that could be reopened by the end of the year if materials are delivered on time and the weather cooperates. The 2.6-mile detour uses Pfeiffer, Kenwood and Creek roads.
• The Cornell Road overpass is scheduled to close June 5, 2000 through July 31, 2000. The detour uses Deerfield, Kenwood and Snider roads.
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