CINCINNATI – Officials are excited about news that the City of Cincinnati has been awarded a major federal grant for the Western Hills Viaduct replacement project.

“Thanks to the INFRA award of $127 million, construction of the new bridge is fully funded based on the current estimate of $398 million,” said Bill Shefcik, the City’s project manager. “We may need to pursue additional funding for the demolition of the existing viaduct due to inflation.”

Construction of the new bridge is expected to begin by 2025. The existing viaduct will remain in place and continue to carry traffic until its replacement in finished in 2030.

The City and Hamilton County are leading a joint effort to replace the 90-year-old viaduct, which connects to I-75 and carries 55,000 vehicles a day over the Mill Creek Valley and a large, active railroad yard.

Site preparation began earlier this year with the demolition of the first of six buildings in the footprint of the new bridge, which will be built 50 feet to the south of the existing viaduct. Preparation includes the relocation of a Duke Energy substation and transmission line, railroad track relocations and other utility relocations, and construction of foundational supports for roadway ramps on the west end of the project footprint.

The City has issued a request for qualifications for a construction manager to build the project. Responses are due this Friday, Sept. 15.

The City will short list qualified firms and request proposals for the project this fall. The City expects to hire the construction manager by early next year.   

The project team also must finalize detailed design and engineering plans for the bridge in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Transportation’s project to replace and reconfigure the I-75 interchange, which is in preliminary design. 

Following is the breakdown of our secured funding:

• $127 million (INFRA grant)
• $120 million (Sales tax administered by the Southwest Regional Transit Authority (SORTA). This amount represents the estimated present value of SORTA’s $205 million commitment to be distributed over 15 years.)
• $87 million (Various federal grants administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation. Sources include:
  • Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments
  • Surface Transportation Block Grants
  • Surface Transportation Program
  • Transportation Review Advisory Council
  • Federal earmarks
  • Federal bridge funds
• $33 million (City general obligation bonds)
• $33 million (Proceeds from the Hamilton County license plate fees)

Read the City's news release about the INFRA grant award announced Friday, Sept. 9.

Additional Information About the Project

Q: Is the INFRA grant part of the federal government’s bi-partisan infrastructure bill?
A: The INFRA grant is an ongoing program whose funding varies. Its funding was increased this year due to the bi-partisan infrastructure bill.

Q: How did the City determine the price of $398 million for the project? What does it include?
A: The estimated cost of the project is the result of the Federal Highway Administration’s formal risk analysis known as a Cost Estimate Review.

The FHWA’s review for our project produced a probabilistic range between $340 million and $441 million to construct the new bridge and demolish the existing viaduct. The $398 million cost represents an estimate with a 70 percent confidence level, which is the standard threshold used by FHWA.

It’s typical for FHWA to do a Cost Estimate Review when it is considering funding a major infrastructure project. The objective is to provide an unbiased risk-based assessment to verify the accuracy and reasonableness of the current total cost estimate to complete a project.

During a Cost Estimate Review, the project team and FHWA scrutinize a detailed list of potential risks to a project. The team assigns a projected cost for each risk, then uses a computer-generated algorithm to calculate a probabilistic range for all costs associated with the project.

In the case of the Western Hills Viaduct replacement project, some of the significant risks factored into the calculations included the complexity of constructing the bridge over the railyard, utility relocations, such as the Duke Energy substation, potential environmental contamination, contingency costs for detailed design, drainage and other engineering details. The calculations also included inflation as a factor.

Q: What is the status of property acquisitions and demolition?
A: All property on the west end of the project site is purchased except for Harnist & Corcoran. The ChemPack property on the east end of the site is purchased. The business owner is in the process of relocating.

Q: What is the timeline for demolition of the ChemPack property, where the new Duke substation is slated to go?
A: Demolition of ChemPack is expected to take place in 2023.

Q:  Can both the Western Hills Viaduct replacement and Brent Spence Bridge project be built at the same time? How are the projects connected?
A: Yes, they can. The City's Department of Transportation & Engineering works hand in hand with the Ohio Department of Transportation, which will have a key role in the Brent Spence Bridge project. We will continue to work closely with ODOT if construction of the two projects overlap.

Completion of the new WHV bridge is a critical part of the Brent Spence Bridge corridor, which extends a mile north of the Ohio River into Cincinnati along Interstate 75 to the existing Western Hills Viaduct and to the south into Northern Kentucky. ODOT's designer for the I-75 interchange is working closely with the designer for WHV to coordinate the two projects.