I figured I would start a thread on the Eastern Corridor project in Cincinnati.
The Eastern Corridor project is an extension of I-74 from it's current end at I-75 to I-275 with the OH-32 interchange.
http://easterncorridor.org/overview/program-history/
Here is a map of the current proposed route
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstreetsblog.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F01%2FI-74-Map-1024x556.jpg&hash=8448af933ad1f502087f146b23a19dee8644bca0)
Funding in jeopardy:
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/02/23/eastern-corridor-money-rejected/23896419/ (http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/02/23/eastern-corridor-money-rejected/23896419/)
Tell me about it, the citizens of Newtown are complaining and it does actually go through a park
Also, they didn't include the funding required for upgrading the Norwood Lateral to modern Interstate standards and possible three-laning
It goes through a National Wild and Scenic River, a park and through historic Indian burial mounds. It is opposed by the cities of Mariemont and Newtown, the two cities it is supposed to benefit. It is also unfunded and that has always been an issue.
As for the Norwood Lateral, there is nothing in the pipeline. The roadway has an acceptable level-of-service (B-C) and whose traffic levels really aren't increasing. It would also be prohibitively expensive to widen the highway - it's in a very narrow right-of-way.
True, when I drive the Norwood Lateral I do see how there is barely room for widening
The City of Norwood even floated the idea of turning the Lateral into a boulevard but it didn't happen.
This project is completely unnecessary.
One small step towards North Carolina! :rolleyes:
It does look like ODOT is currently revamping the I-275/OH 32 interchange, but it only looked like it was for a flyover between SB I-275 to EB OH 32.
And for some stupid reason they are adding two traffic lights for traffic on and off I-275
Thank you for posting this thread. I was unaware of the highly needed project.
The best way to approach Cincinnati from the east is OH 32, but you get dumped onto the beltway with no expressway to continue past there, adding at least a half hour to the approach to downtown.
Hopefully this will get built ASAP.
Yes, Cincinnati needs this freeway to be built, it will greatly shorten commute times greatly and possibly spread urban devolopment into that extremely rural area, I mean look what I-275 did to Northern Kentucky, if the eastern corridor is built the results will be just like I-275 in Northern Kentucky
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on March 27, 2015, 08:06:53 PM
it will greatly shorten commute times greatly and possibly spread urban devolopment into that extremely rural area
You're not feeding back the feedback loop.
Newtown and Mariemont is not what you would call a rural area. Most of the concern is in the protected flood plain which can't be developed upon. The only developable plots is further east into Clermont County well past Interstate 275, so any thought of the Eastern Corridor benefiting anything inside the beltway is absurd. It only expedites traffic further out quicker, which doesn't serve the interests of Cincinnati or any of the inner suburbs.
As for the Interstate 275/OH 32 junction, there is no proposal to build an interstate highway inside the Interstate 275 loop, hence the traffic lights at the OH 32 junction. It will be limited access to and from Interstate 275 from OH 32 from the east; from the west, it will be controlled by signals.
I would like to at least see a more direct route between New town and Mariemont
...buuuuuuuut would it not make more sense to just route I-74 along I-75 south to I-71 north to I-471 south to I-275 east to OH 32 east? Call me crazy, but I do not see how building this corridor along the route that is shown on the map would shorten drive time between the OH 32/I-275 interchange and downtown significantly enough, if at all, to justify building this corridor.
Additionally, if the towns that it would serve inside I-275 do not want the improved connectivity to downtown Cincy and elsewhere, then let them be. In terms of long distance travel, it makes perfect sense to just route I-74 along the existing interstate routes to save time and money. Alternatively, I-74 could follow I-275 around the north side to join up with the OH 32 east corridor.
On a side note, have there been any proposals out of Kentucky to have I-74 applied to an upgraded AA Highway? Or does Ohio just have dibs on the I-74 extension?
I thought the proposal was to use the US 52 corridor for I-74 between Cincinnati and Huntington, but I'm not sure if Ohio is really that interested in it.
US 52 in West Virginia is being upgraded to limited access expressway standards, with interchanges and intersections. Outside of Williamson, they constructed a high school just along the corridor - which I suppose is their economic justification for the roadway in the first place?
As for the AA Highway, the state does have a study out there on the upgrade between Interstate 275 and Mason County at KY 10 (west of Maysville). The recommended action which received the most support and is being carried on is a 4-lane highway with limited-access (and 1200' spacing between intersections as standard) at a cost of $178 million. Alternate 4, which is a freeway, costs $478 million and is being carried onto the next phase as well but it isn't actively being considered due to its very high cost.
Study: http://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Pages/Project-Details.aspx?Project=KY%209%20-AA%20Highway-%20Widening%20Study
Sadly, it doesn't take into account the older section of the highway from the end of the project at KY 10 to the new US 68 Maysville bypass, which is not limited-access (and was built as a KY 10 relocation years before the AA came into existence).
There has to be an easier way to get this built, without disrupting the communities or the floodplain, and it's going to be a real pain in the neck to come up with such a route. But it would be nice to have.
The only situation I could think of is a "Big Dig", but that would be way out of reach for ODOT, especially considering that the Brent Spence Bridge project is more important
The other component of the ECP is the OASIS rail project, I could see that in the foreseeable future more than I-74 to I-275
There's a public meeting regarding the Eastern Corridor coming up on March 9th
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D08/Newsreleases/Pages/Eastern-Corridor-Public-Open-House-Scheduled-for-March-9,-20170209-7225.aspx