The Ohio Department of Transportation is ready to give Cincinnati the rights to a valuable 65-foot strip of land along Interstate 75 that will allow the city to expand the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center.

        But ODOT wants the city to give something up first — the plan to open a ramp from Third Street directly to Interstate 75.

        Called “Ramp EE,” the city built the $1.5 million ramp midway through the reconstruction of Fort Washington Way without permission from ODOT to open it.

        It has remained closed.

        ODOT engineers say it would be dangerous to open the ramp because of its proximity to the Fourth Street ramp leading to the interstate.

        ODOT Director Gordon Proctor said it could be five years before the state gives Cincinnati the land easement if the city doesn't take the deal.

        “We're optimistic that we can accommodate the city, if the city can make a compromise on Ramp EE,” Mr. Proctor said.

        The city needs the sloping property between the interstate and Central Avenue so an expanded convention center can span Central Avenue. Support columns would be needed on the ODOT land.

        But state officials are hesitant to give up the property because they might need it to reroute traffic during road projects such as the proposed Brent Spence Bridge make-over.

        City officials are still hopeful they won't have to make the deal. They believe traffic studies will show that the ramp is safe and beneficial to downtown traffic, and that the state won't need the land near Central Avenue.

        “We think, if we can just have the chance to prove how much the ramp helps and how little it affects the convention center site, they (the state) will be willing to let us do both,” said John Deatrick, the city's transportation director.

        Joe Vogel, principal transportation design engineer for Cincinnati, said the city has two consultant proposals in hand for traffic studies that could help make that case. But Mr. Vogel said he's concerned that the studies — no matter what they show — won't sway ODOT.

        “We're not going to waste money on the studies if it's a dead issue,” Mr. Vogel said.

        Mike Flynn, deputy district director for ODOT, acknowledged that Ramp EE doesn't really affect the land needed for the convention center. He said ODOT officials are trying to reach a quick compromise that will allow the city to move forward with an expanded center.

        Even if the city gets the land, there still is no agreement on a plan to pay for the $198 million expansion.

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