( CINCINNATI, OH ) -- Two Hamilton County engineers came to Cincinnati City Hall to discuss much-needed improvements for the Western Hills Viaduct.
The viaduct was constructed in 1932 and has only had one major rehabilitation in 1977. The steel structure of the bridge that is encased in concrete is deteriorating. The bridge also does not meet certain design standards that bridges today have. On the bridge rating scale, it falls on one of the lowest ratings in the system of 4 out of 10.
Including work that needs to done on the I-75 interchange with the bridge, the total cost of the rehabilitation project comes out to $390 million. City council members and county engineers believe that the state will help with a lot of the funding, as will the federal government. However, engineers say it will look better if the city and county puts forth a 20% match grant into the project.
County engineers hope to have the project at least started by 2025 at the absolute latest, but funds would have to be secured beforehand.