CINCINNATI/COVINGTON
Mar. 13 2008
PART 1
It's Roads Scholaring season again! The Peace Bike and I bipped over to Cincinnati (particularly the 8th Street Viaduct area) and to Covington, KY, for 45 fresh road photos - some of which are among my all-time faves! This pile o' pics is divided into 2 parts. Read it and believe it!
The good news? The barrier was removed not too long after this photo.
Near the southwest corner of downtown Cincinnati, looking north on Smith Street from Mehring Way. The appeal of this street is that it runs almost right under the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge (and the C&O Bridge, the rail span that parallels it). Smith ends at Pete Rose Way but it used to go all the way to 7th, where I-75 is now. Note that the rail pier has room for another track.
This mosaic is one of several pieces of art standing off the north side of West Pete Rose Way between the approaches for the Clay Wade Bailey and Brent Spence bridges. Some of the walls that feature these artworks were actually piers supporting a rail line that was removed in the 1990s. Presumably this line went to where the empty space on the piers in the first photo is.
This display of bird statues and fish lurks behind the aforementioned mosaic. The elevated rail line in the background is that which uses the C&O Bridge.
Still another piece of art behind the bird and fish display.
Buried behind the first 3 art pieces is this pier, on which have been painted columns and ancient figures.
Yet another perspective of a perennial favorite Roads Scholaring site. This is west on Mehring Way as it goes under the asymmetrical rail bridge that feeds into the rail viaduct that runs over the road for the next few blocks. This is not a junction with US 50, but it does go to it.
Just past the lopsided rail span, this is the intersection of Mehring Way and Freeman Avenue. From the "It's a mistake..." department, note that an OH 50 shield is used instead of the US 50 marker that should be used.
Freeman Avenue goes over the 6th Street freeway, which carries US 50. It has an interchange that many locals call the Testicles, because of its shape on a map or aerial photo. This is looking east on the freeway towards downtown.
Where Freeman goes over US 50, it also goes over Dalton Avenue. This is looking east on Dalton. This stretch was labeled on maps on Kenyon Street as late as 1980.
Now we're on the 8th Street Viaduct. We're looking straight into the rail bridge to Ludlow, KY, that made repeated appearances in my road photos of several years earlier. This span is actually called the Cincinnati Southern Bridge and opened in 1877. It used to have a pedestrian path, but this was inexplicably removed in the 1970s (one of few shortcomings of my favorite decade). It would pib if they brang back the path!
Looking east on the 8th Street Viaduct, this shows how 8th has a parallel lower level for part of the way. The parallel roadway on the left serves some industries nearby. The viaduct was slated for closure in May 2008 to be rehabbed extensively, and the work was not finished until October 2009. (It was open briefly at one point during construction.) It's also one of few roads in the area with a bike lane - so the city is required by law to find a detour that has a dedicated bike facility. For several years, however, the viaduct had been one of my favorite Scholarin' hot spots - perhaps because viaduct is such an amusing word.
West on the viaduct towards Price Hill. Notice the hill is topped with the 8th & Matson radio tower. This part of 8th, however, does not connect with that part of 8th. The 8th Street Viaduct was built in 1929, replacing an earlier version that had just been constructed in 1910.
Like the closure of the walkway on the Cincinnati Southern Bridge, this is another secret love child of neglect and malice that's characterized the rise of the Far Right. This staircase used to go from the north side of the viaduct down to Evans Street. This is looking north on Evans.
Further west on the viaduct. The sign denotes the end of the bike lane. The bike lane did not fall victim to elitism like the steps to Evans Street and the rail span walkway did, as it reappeared when the viaduct reopened in 2009.
East on Pardee Alley, which is just south of the viaduct. The sign on the telephone pole that skeeps about private property is wrong. The alley is public. Public as a bird!
East on another parallel section of 8th along the viaduct. This roadway off Burns goes down to a level of 8th that sits directly under the viaduct.
This is where that roadway curves and goes under the viaduct.
South on Burns from 8th. The wall on the left is weird because it becomes what appears to be the world's narrowest building (which from front to back is only as wide as the wall). Actually what looks like a building is really a wall with siding that becomes a garage.
The bottom of Burns, approaching River Road. The Waldvogel Viaduct - scheduled for replacement in 2010 after 70 years of faithful service - runs above River Road.
Southwest on River Road under the Waldvogel Viaduct. The old US 50 marker at the top is one of Cincinnati's trademark internally lit signs.
I may have already taken a photo like this before, but if not, we've got one now! This is looking west on English Street, standing in the median. The Waldvogel Viaduct is overhead. English Street was renamed from German Street during World War I.
"Doctor, doctor, give me the news...I got a bad case of sine rot..." This is southwest on River Road again, with the Peace Bike hugging the post for the US 50 sign like a beloved household animal.
Sad news about the much-ballyhooed secret bridge: Just within the 2 months before this photo was taken, the west approach to the forgotten 6th Street span under the Waldvogel Viaduct had been barricaded. The east approach was not, but it's not much good without the west approach, is it? I could still fit a bike back there though, which came in handy during the 8th Street Viaduct project.