Cincinnati secures federal funding for proposed Fort Washington Way project
CINCINNATI — A long-awaited effort to transform Fort Washington Way is moving one step closer to reality after securing $25 million in federal funding, Ohio Sen. Jon Husted said Wednesday.
The news comes after years of Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials pushing for a federal grant to design decks on top of a portion of Fort Washington Way in hopes of reconnecting The Banks with the Central Business District.
"It's a decades-long effort to actually finish Fort Washington Way in the way it was envisioned," Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said.
The project would construct an approximately 1.2-acre highway cap and public plaza over Fort Washington Way, an eight-lane section of I-71/U.S. Route 50.
The project is a partnership between the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. According to local design firm KZF Design, the deck caps will span the area between Second and Third streets, stretching from Race Street to Walnut Street.
Plans call for the new public spaces to include landscap…