Steel beams are going up on the new Linn Street bridge over I-75 in downtown Cincinnati, marking a visible milestone in the $4 billion Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project that shapes the daily commute for Evendale and Princeton corridor drivers.
ODOT District 8 shared a timelapse video on Facebook on Monday, Oct. 26, showing crews from Great Lakes Construction installing beams for the new overpass. The The Linn Street project, awarded under a $46.7 million construction contract, replaces and reconstructs the bridge between W. 8th and W. Court streets, according to an ODOT bulletin.
The new bridge will carry two 10-foot driving lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks on each side. The project also includes reconfiguring W. Court Street and Winchell Avenue and replacing the pedestrian bridge over Winchell.
Work is moving fast. Crews began setting steel beams over the southbound lanes of I-75 the weekend of Oct. 16, shutting down I-75 southbound from the Freeman Avenue exit to the Eighth and Ninth Street viaduct area, WCPO reported. ODOT said progress moved faster than expected, and one southbound lane reopened ahead of schedule on Oct. 17.
Kathleen Fuller, public information officer for ODOT District 8, told WCPO that traffic flowed around the detour. "People are also hopping off at the Freeman Avenue exit and looping their way over to the west side and back into downtown," Fuller said.
WLWT reported ODOT confirmed the Oct. 16 weekend closure was the last full closure related to the new Linn Street bridge. The old bridge had been demolished earlier to make space for highway connections to the new structure.
The ODOT bulletin, published Aug. 31, said Great Lakes Construction would install nine steel girders across two spans over I-75 North and a portion of I-75 South. Linn Street is expected to reopen to traffic in fall 2027, with all work scheduled for completion in late spring 2029.
The Linn Street project is one piece of the broader corridor overhaul. Tommy Arnold with ODOT told WCPO in an Oct. 7 update that foundation work was underway on all aspects of the project in Ohio and Kentucky. The new companion bridge alongside the existing Brent Spence Bridge is set to open in 2031, with new connections to both bridges expected in 2033, according to WLWT.
More disruptions lie ahead as corridor construction continues. Beginning in spring 2027, the northbound I-71 connection from the Brent Spence Bridge to Fort Washington Way is expected to close for about 18 months. Northbound I-71 traffic approaching from Kentucky will be detoured via I-275 and I-471. Exact closure dates have not been announced.
