The region is experiencing a major change in bridge traffic volumes since the closure of part of the Daniel Beard Bridge (I-471).
A traffic count analyst for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) says the Taylor-Southgate (U.S. 27) and Brent Spence bridges have picked up most of the deviated traffic since a fire closed the I-471 bridge going south.
“Looking at the Wednesday before the fire, October 30, and the Wednesday after the fire, November 6, traffic increased southbound by more than 18,500 vehicles on U.S. 27 and by more than 14,800 vehicles on the Brent Spence Bridge,” said OKI Traffic Engineering Technician Jersson Pachar, who shared his findings at Thursday’s OKI executive board meeting.
Pachar also noted that, overall, bridge crossings are down 10% since the fire.
“This is a regional issue crossing the boundaries of cities and states and impacting the region in many ways, and OKI collects and shares information to inform options and solutions across political boundaries,” said OKI CEO Mark Policinski.
OKI collects traffic counts for the region maintaining 15 traffic counters across the seven Ohio River bridges (excluding the pedestrian Purple People Bridge) in collaboration with KYTC.
The agency generates the data and research underlying transportation planning in the three-state, eight-county Cincinnati metro region.
OKI is a council of local governments, business organizations and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies, plans and programs to improve the quality of life and economic development potential of the Tristate.
Featured photo (Wikipedia): The Taylor Southgate Bridge is picking up traffic from closure of part of I-471 bridge