Tuesday, August 31, 1999

Party marks highway progress

---

Fort Washington Way half-done

BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Kyle Kissee whacks an orange construction barrel during ceremonies marking the halfway point of Fort Washington Way reconstruction. (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

        How's this for a commuter's dream: the chance to whack an orange barrel, with no fear of arrest. Or a shot at dunking the person who is partially responsible for traffic backups.

        Frustrated Fort Washington Way commuters got those opportunities Monday at Fountain Square to mark the halfway point of the $146.9 million overhaul ofthe downtown freeway to make it straighter, narrower and safer.

        Kyle Kissee, stuck in Fort Washington Way's bumper-to-bumper traffic on his way to and from work, stepped up to his orange barrel nemesis with a neon green foam bat and didn't hold back.

Swift kick
        After a full wind-up, he smacked the baton the barrel and got a quick kick in, too.

        “I was kind of mad because it's all backed up all the time, so I had to whack a barrel or two,” said Mr. Kissee, 18, of Alexandria, who works in downtown Cincinnati. He said it was fun to get out some frustrations.

Cincinnati engineer John Deatrick, who heads the Fort Washington Way project, laughs after a dip in the dunking booth during Fountain Square festivities. | ZOOM |

        Local Army recruiter Staff Sgt. Charles Watson chose to get his aggressions out by firing softballs at a dunk tank with Fort Washington Way project consultant Fred Craig perched above the water.

        Staff Sgt. Watson was on target and soaked him.

        Cincinnati traffic delays aren't as bad as the ones in Atlanta, where Staff Sgt. Watson lived earlier this year. Still, he has no patience for tie-ups, including those on Fort Washington Way. So he waited in line to “sink him again.”

        Mr. Kissee and Staff Sgt. Watson are among tens of thousands of people who have been detoured or delayed because of work on the three-quarter-mile highway stretching from the Brent Spence Bridge through the Lytle Tunnel.

        The orange barrels will disappear when construction is completed in August 2000.

       

---

Baby found in trash had lived
Health department may recommend shellfish menu warning
Questions and answers on bacteria risks
City's OK for library sign long overdue
Faithful awaiting visit by Mary
Rape evidence scrutinized for link to other assaults
Shooting rage sends man to jail
$35M housing grant expected
Fewer students will be busing
Ky. leads special-ed test efforts
Schools can raise scores by exclusion
United Way hoping for record sum
Butler sheriff folds his jail tent
City may require registration of vicious pets
Defense attempts to raise doubts about MU fliers
Fire that killed man may be arson
Free roses continue Good Neighbor Day tradition
Mason grows by 717 pupils
Party marks highway progress
Woman in shed died of overdose
Emery fix-up in the wings
Latest men's magazines gnarly, not nice
Celebrity look-alikes fool folks
GET TO IT
18-year-old held in robbery, slaying
A tradition folds at Harvest Home Parade
Bail in stabbing stands at $250,000
Cruisers add flotation device
Fernald contractor wins praise
Louisville man heads Gore's Ky. campaign
Lucas readies plan on schools
Monroe now under one roof
Postal worker claims reverse discrimination
Prison guard faces more drug charges
Rabid bat found in pet hospital
TRISTATE DIGEST