CINCINNATI, Ohio — Drivers heading north into Ohio from Kentucky will face a major detour starting next spring as part of the $4.4 billion-plus Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project, with one direction of Fort Washington Way in downtown Cincinnati shutting down for 18 months.
Northbound Interstate 71 traffic will be diverted onto Interstate 275 near Crestview Hills in Northern Kentucky, then onto Interstate 471 near Highland Heights to pick up I-71. The detour is needed as crews reconstruct where I-71 and I-75 split apart on the Brent Spence Bridge near Pete Rose Way in downtown Cincinnati.
“Every single connection has to be rebuilt,” said Matt Bruning, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation. That includes I-71’s connection to Fort Washington Way, the one-mile sunken span running from about Central Avenue to Main Street — meaning eastbound Fort Washington Way will go offline for about the same 18 months. Ramps from I-75 south and U.S. 50 east to Fort Washington Way will also close, as will the ramp from westbound Fort Washington Way to northbound I-75, a closure expected to last about two years.
The good news: I-75 will stay open through the project, with only overnight or weekend closures for short-term work. Drivers bound for northbound I-71 can also use the Norwood Lateral, the Ronald Reagan Highway or the northside loop of I-275, and I-471 will gain lanes at its I-71 connection through restriping. Officials expect to pin down when the northbound I-71 changes begin by November or December, noting the design-build schedule is not locked in and weather or river levels could shift timing.
