ODOT just sent out an email saying that the two way conversion of McMillan (allowing westbound McMillan to northbound 71) will happen next week on July 21

 

Is it bad that I think this is one of the best parts of this interchange project?

 

Westbound McMillan has needed 71N access for a very long time.

ODOT just sent out an email saying that the two way conversion of McMillan (allowing westbound McMillan to northbound 71) will happen next week on July 21:

 

On Friday, July 21, McMillan Street will be converted to a two-way street from May Street to the northbound I-71 on ramp.

 

This extension will allow westbound McMillan Street motorists to access northbound I-71.

 

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OHDOT/bulletins/1a9c953

 

Good. Should be 2 way all the way to Vine

 

Unfortunately, the way they rebuilt that onramp, it does not allow the extension of two-way and farther to the west without ripping out the work they just did.

^ How so?  All they did, as far as I can see, is flare out the ramp a bit where it intersects McMillan so larger vehicles can make the turn without riding up on the curb.  Granted, I can see both ODOT and the city DOTE raising hell about two-waying the rest of McMillan because then eastbound traffic would need to make a left turn across oncoming traffic to get to the ramp, requiring a signal with a left arrow and all that. 

Maybe I have the geometry wrong in my head... I will try to get up there and take another look and get a picture.

They may have put in a little channeling island (pork chop) which would need to be removed, but that's a pretty minor thing. 

It's not technically part of the Uptown Access Project, but here's a view of the construction on I-71 just north of the Lytle Tunnel:

 

 

All of those unused surface lots! After a drive through Nashville the past week I was thinking if we could just activate some demand, we could have an entirely new skyline if we just filled in these spots. I know it's OT here and lamented elsewhere but just wanted to sound off.

It's not technically part of the Uptown Access Project, but here's a view of the construction on I-71 just north of the Lytle Tunnel:

 

 

All of those unused surface lots! After a drive through Nashville the past week I was thinking if we could just activate some demand, we could have an entirely new skyline if we just filled in these spots. I know it's OT here and lamented elsewhere but just wanted to sound off.

 

My latest blog post talks about this area. This photo is a great illustration of how that Gilbert Ave overpass should be removed. I'd like to see it intersect with Eggleston in a roundabout. https://cincinnatiideas.com/2017/06/13/rethinking-eastern-downtown/

 

 

^I may have my facts wrong, but wasn't there a railyard back when under Gilbert and 5th Street?  That would explain the overpasses, but I wholeheartedly agree that Reedy should go away, and Gilbert and Eggleston should be at grade.

Correct...

 

http://www.jjakucyk.com/transit/cln/index.html

The exit ramps from S71 to MLK and Taft are now both open.

The Taft exit has to be one of the longest exit ramps in America. Plus, it goes up a hill and back down hill under MLK.

^ Ramps like this are de rigueur on newer highways.  You see a lot of them in the south. 

The new Taft ramp is in place and almost ready to go.  Two lanes of one-way eastbound McMillan now automatically turn onto the ramp.

That's a big improvement for Walnut Hills. They can actually get on I-71N directly from McMillan now instead of having to make a giant loop, crossing the highway twice on a pair of one-way streets.

The Taft exit has to be one of the longest exit ramps in America. Plus, it goes up a hill and back down hill under MLK.

 

To be fair, it's probably not even half the length of the ramp one mile north. The Montgomery Rd. to S71 ramp is incredibly long.

 

Ramps like this are de rigueur on newer highways.  You see a lot of them in the south. 

 

I just spent some time in Texas and saw a huge number of those galloping ramps and frontage roads.

The Taft exit has to be one of the longest exit ramps in America. Plus, it goes up a hill and back down hill under MLK.

 

To be fair, it's probably not even half the length of the ramp one mile north. The Montgomery Rd. to S71 ramp is incredibly long.

 

I'm not sure which exit you're talking about... the Montgomery Rd ramp to SB I-71 (near Kenwood) is fairly standard suburban ~.1 mile. By contrast, the new exit ramp to Taft is a lot longer around 0.9 mile.

 

 

When urban interstates were first built, a lot of bas design decisions were made to save money. That's why I-75 in Cincinnati had so many left hand exist, very short or very steep ramps, and partial interchanges. Of course modern design standards no longer permit these things, so when we rebuild them today, it comes at a massive expense.

I'm not sure which exit you're talking about... the Montgomery Rd ramp to SB I-71 (near Kenwood) is fairly standard suburban ~.1 mile. By contrast, the new exit ramp to Taft is a lot longer around 0.9 mile.

 

I'm referring to the Montgomery Rd. onramp in Evanston which parallels S71 for about a mile, travels under Woodburn and merges with 71 at the Victory overpass.

The Taft exit has to be one of the longest exit ramps in America. Plus, it goes up a hill and back down hill under MLK.

 

To be fair, it's probably not even half the length of the ramp one mile north. The Montgomery Rd. to S71 ramp is incredibly long.

 

I'm not sure which exit you're talking about... the Montgomery Rd ramp to SB I-71 (near Kenwood) is fairly standard suburban ~.1 mile. By contrast, the new exit ramp to Taft is a lot longer around 0.9 mile.

 

 

 

He's talking about this ramp from Montgomery to I-71 South. It's pretty long and swings away from the interstate because they originally planned for an interchange at Victory Parkway that never got built. The onramp would have weaved through that opening.

^Ahh.. yeah. I forgot about that one.

Nah, it's Red Bank from I-71S.  It's over a mile.  Montgomery in Evanston is under 4,000 feet.

 

EDIT: forgot about the new MLK/Hopple to 75-N.  That looks a few hundred feet longer than Red Bank.

The ramp from KY18 to SB 71/75 is quite long as well.

Google maps is fast. It shows the open ramps.

Traffic was horrendous in and around UC once again.  The opening of the MLK ramps and reopening of the McMillan ramps hasn't improved things in any noticeable way.

Are all the new ramps actually open now?

Almost.  NB71 from Mcmillan opened to a newly-made 2-way McMillan about two weeks ago.  The SB71 to Taft reopened last week.  The only ramps that aren't open are NB71 to MLK and MLK to SB71. 

 

The traffic pattern has already changed noticeably in the area.  There is simply more traffic in and around MLK and Reading all the time. 

 

Almost.  NB71 from Mcmillan opened to a newly-made 2-way McMillan about two weeks ago.  The SB71 to Taft reopened last week.  The only ramps that aren't open are NB71 to MLK and MLK to SB71. 

 

The traffic pattern has already changed noticeably in the area.  There is simply more traffic in and around MLK and Reading all the time.

 

MLK to SB71 will be the big one. Will be interesting to see if it clears up the infinite line of cars on Reading trying to get on 471 every afternoon.

The 71N to MLK ramp opened today.  If there was a public announcement, I missed it.  So the only ramp that still hasn't opened is MLK to 71S. 

NB71 to MLK is already open. It opened sometime last week.

The 71N to MLK ramp opened today.  If there was a public announcement, I missed it.  So the only ramp that still hasn't opened is MLK to 71S.

It was open last Friday. Not sure when the official open date was.

Sorry I get confused sometimes but quick question:

 

McMillan was one way heading East but now has been made two way from I-71 East to May Street?  Now there is an exit ramp to get onto I-71 N from McMillan (not direct)?  Are there any other exit ramps on McMillan?

The McMillan to I-71 northbound ramp is roughly the same as it's always been, only now the ramp has two lanes instead of one (it combines before reaching the bottom), and you can now access that ramp going west on McMillan too.  There's a stop sign for westbound McMillan, and some plastic bollards in the street to try to prevent anyone going eastbound from blowing past the ramp. 

Sorry I get confused sometimes but quick question:

 

McMillan was one way heading East but now has been made two way from I-71 East to May Street?  Now there is an exit ramp to get onto I-71 N from McMillan (not direct)?  Are there any other exit ramps on McMillan?

 

You are correct. That's the only ramp to/from I-71 on McMillan.

 

In this streetview, you can see the ramp under construction where they widened it a bit to allow for westbound traffic on McMillan to have access to the ramp: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1263348,-84.4966496,3a,75y,3.59h,84.9t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sY6w8VURCXopxx6RdNi8RPw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DY6w8VURCXopxx6RdNi8RPw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D392%26h%3D106%26yaw%3D260.12753%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Google maps is fast. It shows the open ramps.

 

Google Maps is now slow. They still haven't updated the Taft exit ramp to show it starting back with the new MLK exit. Also doesn't show the N71 ramp to MLK. Strange.

Google maps is fast. It shows the open ramps.

 

Google Maps is now slow. They still haven't updated the Taft exit ramp to show it starting back with the new MLK exit. Also doesn't show the N71 ramp to MLK. Strange.

 

Google gets the latest aerial photography based on the agency that shoots it. Before the current April 2017 aerials, they were using the June 2016 aerials. It's not uncommon to go about a year between updates. Its 3D mesh layer, on the other hand, has not been updated since late 2014 and that is something they usually do.

Court Street has been missing from Google Maps between Vine and Main for at least a week.  I've seen stupid stuff like this happen before at other locations.  Not sure where the breakdown is occurring.

^ I noticed this as well. I was walking to Court & Elm about a week ago and I check GMaps to see which way it wanted to take me. The walking route took me across 9th to Elm. I scrolled up and saw no Court St.

The MLK to S71 ramp is now open (as of Tuesday I believe) and the piers for the old Fredonia Ave. and Conrail bridges have come down.

 

From a highway perspective, it looks like the only things that still need to go up are the guardrails and barriers.

Seems like they need to add a sign about MLK on S71 here: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1436302,-84.4742481,3a,75y,303.32h,95.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sF8k7xbfMRacq5e6ogG6wLg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

They may be waiting until all of the I-71 ramps reopen to install new signage. There are quite a few old signs that need updating, including at least one that advertises "Stadium/Coliseum" -- the stadium that the sign refers to no longer exists, and the Coliseum has long since been renamed to U.S. Bank Arena. (Strangely, the old Horseshoe Casino signs got updated to read Jack Casino in a very timely manner.)

Lately ODOT has been finishing final signage late in the project.

That new ramp meter from E McMillan to Northbound I-71 has a short queue. I never seen one so close to a road before. And i have seen a lot in California.

Just north of the MLK interchange, they've cleared the hillside between 71 and Jonathan Ave and there are bulldozers moving dirt. Anybody know what's going on here? It doesn't seem like they're adding another lane. Are they installing sound barrier walls?

 

Streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1433845,-84.4733357,3a,75y,182.95h,96.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1steGHy_oogadRGq7avDkyFg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

This morning:

It could be sound walls. That looks like a nice level shelf they are forming.

i think they are regarding the hill. They built shelves right of that picture and then covered them back up with a final grade. They added a new lane and it may be that the hill was too close to the new lane.

The McMillan to I-71 northbound ramp is roughly the same as it's always been, only now the ramp has two lanes instead of one (it combines before reaching the bottom), and you can now access that ramp going west on McMillan too.  There's a stop sign for westbound McMillan, and some plastic bollards in the street to try to prevent anyone going eastbound from blowing past the ramp. 

 

 

I am shocked that ODOT only put plastic bollards here and no concrete island or anything like that. It seems like it's only a matter of time before a lost and/or careless and/or drunk driver plows right through those bollards and directly into opposing traffic.

Yeah, it's kind of unclear when you're on McMillan westbound that your only option is to get on the interstate.  Really they should have a concrete curb or barrier that keeps people from doing a U-turn. Also, they have installed ramp meters.

^^ Is the top of that new sign pole supposed to get another cobrahead, even though there are already two at the corner?  Looks sort of dumb and needlessly tall if not.  Hopefully they do a little streetscaping there - none of the utility poles are plumb, the sidewalk is all weedy...just looks run down, like a place that no one looks at because they fly past at 45 mph.

 

I'd actually like to see fewer lanes there, too.  Presumably with 71 access at MLK, fewer people will use this stretch.  Really doesn't need to be four lanes wide.  Narrow it, calm it, and slow people down before they hit the Walnut Hills business district.  Maybe people will actually want to use the sidewalks.

^^ Is the top of that new sign pole supposed to get another cobrahead, even though there are already two at the corner?  Looks sort of dumb and needlessly tall if not.  Hopefully they do a little streetscaping there - none of the utility poles are plumb, the sidewalk is all weedy...just looks run down, like a place that no one looks at because they fly past at 45 mph.

 

I'd actually like to see fewer lanes there, too.  Presumably with 71 access at MLK, fewer people will use this stretch.  Really doesn't need to be four lanes wide.  Narrow it, calm it, and slow people down before they hit the Walnut Hills business district.  Maybe people will actually want to use the sidewalks.

 

Better yet, make McMillan two-way (west of 71) and add on-street parking. That will improve connectivity, slow down traffic, and encourage more businesses to open up along McMillan (like Landlocked Social House).

I'm really curious how the opening of the MLK interchange will affect traffic on other streets. Hopefully the city will redo the traffic counts soon and determine that Taft and McMillan could be converted to two-way without causing any traffic issues. Someone suggested (maybe thebillshark[/member]?) that the next logical phase would be extending the two-way conversion west to Vine. After that, it should be a pretty easy sell to extend it all the way to Hughes HS.