CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) held a virtual public meeting Wednesday evening, Oct. 20, 2021, to share and discuss options to remove or replace the Brighton Approach Bridge in the West End. The options are based on a detailed evaluation by the city’s engineering consultant.

The 95-year-old concrete bridge, which spans Central Parkway between Colerain Avenue and West McMicken Avenue, is in poor condition with significant, widespread deterioration.

The meeting, which was conducted virtually from 6:30 p.m. until approximately 8:00 p.m., included a formal presentation by project leaders and a question-and-answer session with the public and media. A recording of the meeting will be posted to DOTE’s project web page later this week.

Highlights from the presentation follow below.

HIGHLIGHTS
Brandon Lecrone, Brighton Approach Bridge project manager for the city, discussed the condition of the existing bridge, the need to replace or remove it as well as historic considerations. Lecrone also highlighted the project’s timeline and funding status.

“Over the last five years we have considered multiple options for how to manage the bridge long term,” Lecrone said, referring to previous studies and a forthcoming detailed report, which have included analyses of the bridge’s condition and potential project costs. “We’ve narrowed down the options and are holding our meeting tonight to discuss the pros and cons of each with you.”

The project team also studied options to rehabilitate the bridge but determined they weren’t feasible primarily due to the extent and severity of the deterioration and high, long-term maintenance costs, Lecrone said.

Lecrone encouraged the audience to provide its feedback by taking the city’s online survey on the project website.

Lecrone also told participants that the city has secured $3.2 million in federal and local funds to pay for the project. The cost of the options being considered range between $1.5 million and $4.9 million. The project team expects to select the so-called “preferred alternative” by late January 2022 after considering input from community members and other stakeholders this fall.

The city would develop detailed designs during the remainder of 2022 and into 2023 with plans to begin construction in the fall of 2023 or early 2024, Lecrone said.

Brad Ackel, the project’s consulting engineer with Carpenter Marty Transportation Inc. in Cincinnati, detailed the four alternatives the city is considering and explained the criteria used to evaluate each.

The alternatives are:

• Maintain the existing bridge with no improvements
• Replace the existing bridge with a new span for vehicles and pedestrians
• Replace the existing bridge with a new span for pedestrians only
• Remove the existing bridge and build a new, handicap-accessible pathway on the hillside between Central Parkway and McMicken Avenue

“Our primary goal is to build a safe, accessible and user-friendly connection between the neighborhoods of CUF and the West End,” Ackel told the audience. “That connection may be a new bridge or a pedestrian pathway. Your input is an important part of our decision-making process. We look forward to hearing from you.”
 

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ABOUT THE PROJECT
Built in 1926, the Bright Approach Bridge is reaching the end of its useful life. The City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering has secured $3.2 million in federal and local funding to remove or replace the bridge. The city is expected to announce the preferred alternative by late January 2022. Read more about it.