CINCINNATI -- From our own observations and e-mails from several different Westside commuters, it appears getting through the new I-74 East entry ramp signals went better on Wednesday, the second day the new signal system has been turned on.
9News crews watched from the Colerain Avenue entrance ramp to 74, and found drivers waiting about 5 minutes on average to make it up to the traffic signals to get on to I-74. That appears to be considerably shorter than the wait motorist encountered at Colerain and 3 other newly 'metered' entrance ramps.
A driver who went through the Montana Avenue ramp says lines there were considerably shorter on Wednesday as well. With no line stretching all the way out to Montana Avenue, as it did on Tuesday. The driver also reports that he saw more people using the right side entry ramp on Wednesday than the day before. Montana and Colerain Avenue are the two ramps to I-74 Eastbound that have 2 lanes.
Ohio Transportation Department(ODOT) officials say one of the reasons for the large back-ups and delays on Tuesday was that most drivers followed the usual habit of using only the far left lane to get onto the expressway.
ODOT says it plans on having inspectors and technicians observing and 'tweaking' the new ramp traffic signals through the week and beyond to make sure they are all working correctly. On Tuesday, many drivers complained that very short green lights often confused drivers. ODOT says it will make those green lights longer so they stay green until a driver has a chance to pull completely through and past the light.
The new ramp entry signals on I-74 are part of a $3 Million, 2-year project to improve traffic flow and reduce rear-end crashed along I-74 during rush hours. The traffic signals are only scheduled to operate during morning rush hours between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
Other drivers along I-74 East who come in from further west say they've noticed an improvement in traffic flow on the Interstate itself, with less slowing down and stopping on the expressway.
The ramp traffic signals are located at Spring Grove Avenue, Colerain-Beekman Street, Montana Avenue and North Bend Road entrances to I-74 East. They are the first expressway entrance traffic signals to be used in the Tri-state.
