Two Cincinnati road projects are moving forward following approvals by City Council.
Last week, council passed unanimously an ordinance allowing the City to enter into an agreement with the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners for improvements to River Road between Evans Street and Maryland Avenue in Lower Price Hill.
The agreement is necessary to create a separate City capital account for $500,000 in county Municipal Road Fund (MRF) program funding, which cannot be used for other project activities such as property acquisition or design enhancements.
Part of the much larger $68 million Waldvogel Viaduct replacement project, River Road will be upgraded to current City safety standards. The viaduct will be replaced with an at-grade roadway and five new ramp bridges.
Major construction on the viaduct replacement will begin next spring and should last two years. A $6 million first phase, the relocation of four railroad tracks south of River Road, is already underway.
More than 50,000 motorists use the Waldvogel Viaduct/River Road corridor daily.
Dana Avenue
Council also passed unanimously a resolution declaring its intention to appropriate 29 properties and easements – or nearly 1.2 acres – for the Dana Avenue Improvement Project.
The $5 million project to upgrade the roadway between Interstate 71 and Victory Parkway will:
- Smooth the S-curve just east of Victory Parkway;
- Widen Dana Avenue from four lanes to five lanes between Victory Parkway and Montgomery Road, including the addition of left-turn and center-turn lanes;
- Add a lengthened left-turn lane at Montgomery Road and a new left-turn lane at Evanston Avenue on westbound Dana Avenue;
- Add new curbs, sidewalks and street trees, with five-foot wide tree lawns and sidewalks (and eight-foot wide tree lawns and sidewalks along the north side of Dana Avenue between Victory Parkway and Montgomery Road);
- Replace traffic signals; and
- Install two new water mains.
Sources of funding include Ohio Public Works Commission grants, Greater Cincinnati Water Works capital funds, Evanston tax increment financing funds, and Department of Transportation and Engineering capital funds.
Both the North Avondale and Evanston community councils are supportive of the project. Six of the properties are owned by Xavier University.
Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati to appropriate 16 parcels for Waldvogel project (6/8/10)
ODOT to set new speed limit for stretch of River Road? (4/28/10)
Cincinnati taking action on roadway improvements (11/3/09)
Cincinnati makes decisions on Waldvogel, Hamilton (7/2/09)
City trying to beat winter on Dana streetscape (11/14/07)
