CINCINNATI — For most of Ohio's I-275 loop, drivers enjoy three lanes in each direction. But two areas narrow a lane, including a two-mile stretch through Anderson Township that often creates a bottleneck during busy times.
If you’ve spent rush hour crawling between Kellogg Avenue and Five Mile Road, you know the frustration all too well.
Dave Plummer knows it better than most. He's lived in Anderson Township all his life and raised the issue at WCPO’s recent “Let’s Talk” community event.
“It’s been a nagging issue that’s gone on way too long,” Plummer said.
Plummer said he's reached out to officials for years, asking why the highway narrows in that stretch and if it can be widened to three lanes.
"I started with Anderson Township, I write to them — the trustees. ... They said, 'This is way out of our purview. Contact ODOT.' So, I did. Nothing happened. I didn't get a response, nothing. Who knows if I got the right person?" Plummer said. "And then, during the Biden administration, when they got the big infrastructure bill, I'm like, ah, great time to hit up the senators. Maybe this is on the plate to be upgraded to three lanes. I mean, that's really what this boils down to."
We took Plummer's concerns to ODOT, whose spokesperson Kathleen Fuller said there's no simple long-term solution.
WATCH: ODOT explains why fixing the I-275 bottleneck through Anderson Township isn't simple
When I-275 was built in the 1960s, it was designed as a two-lane bypass, typical of interstates at the time. Most of the loop was widened over the years as more cars hit the roads, but the two-mile stretch through Anderson Township remains unchanged.
The area is "bifurcated," meaning two lanes in each direction are separated by a wide median. On one side, a steep hillside rises; on the other, the slope drops toward Five Mile Creek.
“These geotechnical issues — the hillside, the slope — present a lot of challenges to basically adding that extra lane,” Fuller said. "Even constructing the two lanes was a feat, given the topography."
Fuller was candid when we asked how costly a widening project would be.
“It would not be a small ticket item,” she said.
Massive stabilizing work would be required, including cutting into the hillside and reengineering the median. ODOT is nearing completion of a recent emergency slide repair, stabilizing the east belt lanes, but expanding further would demand even more intense intervention.
“Designing and constructing a third lane, along with new shoulders, is a high-cost, high-complexity undertaking,” Fuller said. The environmental impacts, engineering requirements and scale make this stretch unlike any other on I-275," Fuller said.
ODOT does not have a widening project slated, and likely won't for at least the next five to ten years, Fuller said, but possible solutions have been discussed.
One idea is to reinforce roadway shoulders, allowing them to function as extra lanes during morning and evening rush hours — what ODOT calls “smart lanes.”
ODOT currently has smart lane projects underway in Hamilton and Clermont counties between State Route 28 and I-71.
“It’s a low-cost measure that could be looked at,” Fuller said. "Smart lanes are typically, you know, that does kind of help out with the congestion during peak travel times.
Fuller points out that while the bottleneck is aggravating, it’s relatively small compared to other trouble spots. It also isn’t flagged as a major safety concern.
“Traffic is moving. It’s just moving very slowly in that two-mile section,” Fuller said.
Clermont County has seen an approximately 18% population increase since 2000, with significant growth in residential development, particularly in Union, Miami, and Batavia townships.
With a bigger population comes more commuters, and Plummer worries the stretch will eventually become a safety issue. He also noted the construction of the new Riverbend music center, stressing that traffic was already bad when concerts were held at the old venue.
"Once that goes up, it's only going to get worse," Plummer said. "Traffic always backs up, and there's always a crash on the bridge."
So what can commuters do? Fuller advises continued patience.
“Be prepared for slower travel times and check traffic conditions before heading out — especially during peak hours, said Fuller. “Slowing down actually helps traffic move better. Zipper merging and being courteous make a difference.”
