CINCINNATI/COVINGTON
Mar. 13 2008
PART 2
If there's one thing the Peace Bike and I just love, it's Cincinnati's lower Mill Creek valley. It's scenic and easy to get to, so we've become quite familiar with it - but it's still always full of surprises! This is facing east towards the creek on a rail line that crosses Evans Street just north of the approach to the 6th Street secret bridge.
North on Evans Street. You can see the 8th Street Viaduct up ahead.
This is the lower level of 8th under the viaduct, looking east towards Evans. Yes, it really is this dark, even in the daytime. Lower 8th is split down the middle by the wall on the left.
Usually this is only a PG-rated page, but I couldn't resist catching this graffiti on one of the warehouse-style buildings along the lower level of 8th.
West on lower 8th. It looks like the street simply ends up ahead.
This nifty set of steps went from Evans up to the south side of the 8th Street Viaduct.
Looking east onto the viaduct. The weight limit on this 1929 span was slashed from 40 tons just in early 2008.
Back on the other side of the viaduct, looking west onto the structure. At left you can see that 8th has yet another parallel roadway.
Marching east on 8th through the neighborhood of Queensgate. You'll notice 8th miraculously becomes 7th when it crosses over I-75. I also don't know why they designed the ramp to Gest so you can go only south. It's a simple ramp, so they could have had it meet Gest at a more perpendicular angle, but instead it just glides into the southbound side of the road.
West on the wide 8th through Queensgate. I think that up until the 1960s or so, this was more of an old-style city street. Then I guess they decided they wanted one road within Cincinnati that looks like a Sun Belt suburb.
Looking east, right between the eastbound and westbound sides of the 6th Street freeway (US 50). Gest Street runs horizontally. Straight ahead is an unusual left-hand exit from westbound US 50 to Gest.
Standing in the median of the 6th Street freeway, looking west. Don't ask me how I ended up in a freeway median, but all I know is I'm sure there's an Allowed Cloud against it! The framework of the Ludlow rail bridge is again visible in the background.
These elephant statues are another example of the interesting public art I saw on this outing. The display is at 5th & Gest.
What's years of Roads Scholaring in the 'Nati without a photo of Fort Washington Way? That of course is the freeway that carries I-71 and US 50 on the south side of downtown. This is looking west from Elm Street. Fort Washington Way opened in 1961, but it later underwent a massive reconstruction that was completed in 2000. Almost nothing remains of the original roadway.
Looking south on Race Street towards Theodore M. Berry Way. Up ahead is the skyline of Covington, KY, and in the background we're looking straight ahead on Madison Avenue.
East on Theodore M. Berry Way at Race Street. This is looking towards the Reds' ballpark on what's a fairly new road - probably early 2000s.
On the approach of the Roebling Suspension Bridge, looking towards downtown Cincinnati. Where it turns left it becomes Theodore M. Berry Way. I don't think there's any trace of the old layout of the bridge approach where it ramped onto Fort Washington Way (with the T-intersection and giant diaper pails and all).
Heading onto the Suspension Bridge towards Covington! The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet maintains the bridge up to about here in Ohio - so it is KY 17 here.
On the Expulsion Bridge - oops, Suspension Bridge - looking right into Covington at one of its 1990s-era skyscrapers. This shows what a high-density area this is now.
South on Holman Avenue in Covington, heading towards the day's final errand.
Although the useless project to widen 12th Street in Covington was supposed to begin in 2006, I had yet to see any work on it when this photo was taken. This is looking north from 12th from the bridge over the rail line. The obscure alley you see here is labeled as part of Chesapeake Avenue on one map.
This photo completes the day's work. As the day's final important act, I visited Trevor Street, because I've been receiving harassing phone calls from a home there. This is east on Trevor from Scott. One of the buildings pictured here is the source of the calls. If the harasser doesn't like being exposed, that's too bad.