Cincinnati will appropriate nine properties and 17 temporary easements for the $2 million Montana Avenue Improvement Project, which is designed to improve safety along the 1.8-mile corridor .

The new three-lane "road diet" approach will utilize the roadway's current 36-foot width. The appropriations, expected to cost $75,000, are needed for a new right-turn lane at Westwood Northern Boulevard.

Westwood leaders and the City's Department of Transportation and Engineering have been working since 2005 on improvements to the major commuter corridor that will not only improve safety, but will retain the neighborhood's residential character and boost its struggling business district. The corridor, which serves 18,000 motorists per day, saw 624 accidents between 2003 and 2007 – several of them fatal.

In addition to the reconfigured lanes, improvements include a median island between Epworth and Harrison avenues, upgraded traffic signals at six intersections, the elimination of all on-street parking, pedestrian lighting between Epworth Avenue and Larue Court, and new sidewalks.

Construction is expected to begin in 2011.

Funding for 80 percent of the project costs come from Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Funds – provided by the Federal Highway Administration, administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation and disbursed by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments. A 20 percent local match will be provided by City capital funds.

Previous reading on BC:
Proposed council motion supports 'road diet' for Montana Avenue (12/16/08)
Dohoney update council on Montana improvements (11/26/08)