Wednesday, August 18, 1999
Pete Rose Way exit closed on I-75 south
Try Freeman Avenue, Fifth Street instead
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After just a day, city engineers closed the Pete Rose Way exit to drivers southbound on Interstate 75, saying there wasn't enough room to cross traffic safely.
For riverfront events, drivers are urged to get off I-75 at Freeman Avenue and follow Freeman or Gest Street south.
For downtown, drivers can exit I-75 at Fifth or Seventh streets.
“It was an accident waiting to happen,” said Cincinnati Police Sgt. Rudy Gruenke. “People were actually stopping on the new bridge, waiting to get across to the Pete Rose Way exit.”
On Thursday morning, the city switched traffic headed from southbound I-75 to Fort Washington Way to a new portion of the highway's bridges. On paper, there seemed to be enough room for cars to get to the Pete Rose Way exit.
In practice, it didn't work. On Friday, the exit was closed.
It's unclear whether it will reopen.
City engineers and Fort Washington Way designers are looking at ways to make the exit safer, but none of the options looks promising, said John Deatrick, the Cincinnati engineer leading the Fort Washington Way reconstruction. “The transition is abrupt,” he said.
Cars southbound on I-75 headed for the exit had to cross a lane of traffic heading into Fort Washington Way from the Brent Spence Bridge.
There wasn't enough room to accommodate the 7,000 cars coming from the Brent Spence Bridge and southbound I-75 which use the Pete Rose Way exit daily.
The closure means a little less direct connection to the riverfront — a concern of Cincinnati officials as the Reds season continues and the Bengals season opens. Also of concern are the crowds, estimated at 750,000, for October's Tall Stacks '99.
For now, the ARTIMIS (Advanced Regional Traffic Interactive Management & Information System) signs are asking people en route to the riverfront to get off I-75 at Freeman.
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