Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cincinnati on board with Harrison Avenue safety improvements

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance allowing it to enter into a local public agency (LPA) agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), solidifying its intent to cooperate on safety and capacity improvements to Harrison Avenue.

The S6.8 million project, which will reconfigure the roadway between Queen City Avenue and the Cincinnati corporation line, will include the building of consistent lane widths, the addition of left-turn lanes, the smoothing of sharp curves, and signal operation changes.

According to studies by the Department of Transportation and Engineering, the accident rate on the stretch of roadway is nearly twice the City average.

The LPA agreement makes available $5.44 million in federal Surface Transportation Program funds, administered by ODOT and distributed by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

The remaining local match will come from Department of Transportation and Engineering capital budget accounts, Ohio Public Works Commission funding, and Hamilton County Municipal Road funds.

In an April memo to council, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said that the earliest the project could start is 2012.

Previous reading on BC:
Harrison Avenue improvements could begin in 2012 (4/9/09)