Riverside Drive, east of Downtown Cincinnati, will be completely shut down starting Monday for five weeks while construction crews work on a storm sewer project.
The busy route will be closed between Kemper and Hazen, where a railroad bridge crosses over it.
Officials said the closure is part of a street rehab project which will include significant storm-sewer improvements in an area with long-term flooding and drainage problems.
City Stormwater Management Engineer Eric Saylor said the work will eliminate part of a combined sewer system on the street.
"So not only is this a good project from a flooding standpoint, it is a good environmental project," Saylor said. "We are reducing combined sewer overflows to the environment and that's benefiting the Metropolitan Sewer District as well."
The project has a $4.7 million price tag and is being paid for with a combination of city and state funds.
City Engineer Don Gindling said the plan is being coordinated with unexpected work on Columbia Parkway, where a series of emergency repairs have been underway to stop landslides.
"We will have two lanes inbound and two lanes outbound open Monday when this closes," Gindling said. "So that's been part of the coordination is trying to get all that done before we start this closure."
There is good news for residents and businesses near the Riverside Drive closure. City Engineer Lisa Rowell said the road will only be closed at that location.
"If you want to come from Eggleston to drive through to get to your residence, you can do that," Rowell said. "If you want to come from Stanley to come to the residences or to get to businesses, you can do that because it will be open."
Pedestrian and bicycle access will be maintained during the closure.
The posted detour for those traveling eastbound on Riverside Drive is Eggleston north to the entrance ramp for Columbia Parkway, to Stanley to Kellogg Avenue. Those heading westbound will be detoured via Stanley to Columbia Parkway to Fort Washington Way.
The major project the city announced this spring to make permanent repairs along Columbia Parkway won't begin until later this summer after Riverside has re-opened.
