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South Cumminsville bridge construction on indefinite hold

City: New Hopple, Beekman interchanges suffice
Posted at 4:30 AM, May 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-18 06:44:54-04

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified insufficient funds as the reason bridge construction was put on hold. This story has been updated. 

CINCINNATI -- A $50 million bridge that would have connected South Cumminsville to Central Parkway is indefinitely on hold, according to a memo from City Manager Harry Black

"Frustration is, for us, the name of the game," said Marilyn Evans, president of the South Cumminsville Community Council.

The proposed connector would have given drivers an easy path from Elmore Street to Central Parkway in Clifton and split the cost evenly between the city of Cincinnati and the Ohio Department of Transportation. 

"We were pursuing it," said ODOT communications manager Brian Cunningham. "The city would also have to come up with $25 million."

In Black's memo, he says the new Hopple Street interchange at I-75 and the reconfigured Beekman Street interchange at I-74 "provide sufficient capacity and connectivity to safely move commuters in this area." Thus, he says, the bridge isn't needed. 

Black said the the Department of Transportation and Engineering will request capital budget funds originally allocated to the Cumminsville Bridge project be reallocated to the City Bridge Program.