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Columbia Parkway Repair Could Be Delayed By Work On Riverside Drive

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Cincinnati Transportation and Engineering officials are moving forward with plans for stopping landslides along parts of Columbia Parkway. Council last week approved $17 million for that work and Director Joe Vogel updated a committee Tuesday on the process.

"We've received seven responses from contractors to our request for information," Vogel said. "We've narrowed it down to four. And then we're going to put out an RFP (request for proposal), which is the second step. And we expect to receive those by the end of May and then make a decision."

Work on Columbia Parkway could begin in July. But it may be delayed because of two separate projects on Riverside Drive.

Riverside will be closed for about a month in June and July to upgrade a storm-sewer near the railroad overpass just east of Kemper Lane.

In addition, re-paving work is planned on Riverside from Eggleston to Stanley starting in a few weeks and lasting into the fall. That will reduce lanes on that route.

"We will get Riverside Drive re-opened before we start the mega-wall," Vogel said. "And during all this work, these six projects, our intention is to keep one lane open each way on Riverside and Columbia Parkway, at least one lane."

Vogel said they may speed up the Riverside work while delaying the landslide repairs on Columbia Parkway so there's as little overlap as possible.

Council Member Greg Landsman has been pushing for the landslide work to begin soon, and he may suggest city administrators re-think delaying it.

Vogel was asked what the Riverside construction will mean for bike lanes that were installed several years ago.

"We'll have one lane each way open, and our only choice I believe is for bikes to share the lane with vehicles," Vogel said. "We won't have room during construction to my knowledge to maintain a separate lane for bikes."

Grant money from the Ohio Department of Transportation is funding some of the re-paving work on Riverside Drive, so that's why the project must continue, or the city could lose that funding.
 

Jay Hanselman brings more than 10 years experience as a news anchor and reporter to 91.7 WVXU. He came to WVXU from WNKU, where he hosted the local broadcast of All Things Considered. Hanselman has been recognized for his reporting by the Kentucky AP Broadcasters Association, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and the Ohio AP Broadcasters.