Cincinnati City Council is in the midst of making several key decisions on local roadway improvement projects.

Most recently, council passed unanimously an ordinance announcing its intent to cooperate with the --> --> --> (ODOT) on a railroad relocation project, the first phase of the two-phased, $64 million Waldvogel Viaduct reconstruction.

The ordinance is the final piece of legislation necessary to make the City eligible for approximately $5 million in federal stimulus and Surface Transportation Program funds through the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI).

To fund the remaining local share, the City will supply approximately $977,000 from an existing Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) capital improvement program project account.

The project would relocate the four sets of railroad tracks immediately , approximately 100 feet south.

In spring 2011, viaduct work will begin with the construction of five new bridges and an at-grade roadway for US-50, as well as the realignment of River Road to current design standards.

The entire project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.


I-75

Council also adopted a resolution supporting the Cincinnati Interstate 75 Corridor Context and Criteria, a document outlining policy guidance for redevelopment of the area as part of the Brent Spence Bridge, --> --> -->I-75 Mill Creek Expressway --> --> --> and --> --> --> projects.

Noting that the I-75 corridor is one of the busiest in the nation for transporting people and goods – cutting through the heart of Cincinnati – the resolution said that the redesign would have "a profound impact on the City of Cincinnati and the region".

The bulleted list contains specific guidelines to promote economic development opportunities for the City and the 15 neighborhoods that line the corridor, to outline the roadway's design and function and its coordination with intermodal and other infrastructure, to inform aesthetics and design, to re-establish the dense urban fabric, and to incorporate environmental and green elements.

The document will be forwarded to ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration.


MLK

Soon, council will consider an ordinance that would authorize a local public agency agreement with ODOT and pledge City cooperation for the $9.9 West Martin Luther King Jr. Improvements Project.

The $9.9 million project on the segment of roadway , would improve the S-curve between W McMicken and Dixmyth avenues, improve the W Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Clifton Avenue intersection, add left turn lanes, and install a bicycle side path.

Nearly $8 million will be provided from OKI funding, with existing DOTE capital improvement program project accounts expected to fund the balance of the project cost.

Currently in the conceptual design phase, the project is scheduled to begin construction in 2016.

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati makes decisions on Waldvogel, Hamilton (7/2/09)
Cincinnati passes ordinance for Waldvogel relocations (6/15/09)
Cincinnati endorses Brent Spence project policy guidelines (6/10/09)
Cincinnati approves Waldvogel appropriations (5/14/09)
Waldvogel appropriations passed by committee (5/6/09)