CINCINNATI – The bottom deck of the Western Hills Viaduct will be closed overnight next Tuesday through Friday, May 21 – 24, and during the day Saturday, May 25, for scheduled inspections. The ramp at Exit 2B from southbound Interstate 75 to the viaduct also will be closed during these periods.

The closures will be in effect while crews work 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. weeknights and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday.

The top deck of the viaduct will remain open at all times.

Local motorists heading east will be detoured via the top deck to Central Parkway, Brighton Place, to Harrison Avenue to Spring Grove Avenue.

Those local motorists heading west from Spring Grove will be detoured along the same route via Harrison Avenue to Brighton Place to Central Parkway to the top deck.

Motorists on I-75 south who wish to travel westbound over the viaduct can detour via Exit 2A at Western Avenue/Liberty Street, or take Exit 1G at Ezzard Charles Drive to Winchell Avenue to northbound I-75 at Harrison Avenue, which connects directly to the top deck of the viaduct.

The closures are being coordinated with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Sewer District’s Lick Run improvement project near the west end of the viaduct.

To help guide motorists, signs will be posted on site for all detours. Motorists are encouraged to use caution when approaching the area.

Crews will be conducting close-up visual inspections on about 70 structural members, which include various beams, stringers and girders. These so-called “arm’s length” inspections are part of the City’s normal, periodic review and maintenance of the viaduct.

The viaduct is a double-decker structure built in the early 1930s. It spans more than a half mile over rail yards and the Mill Creek Valley, connecting Westwood, Harrison and Queen City avenues to Spring Grove Avenue, McMillan Avenue, Central Parkway and I-75.