
Fourth and Race streets will not fully reopen today, as planned.
Fourth Street will remain closed between Race and Elm until 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Race Street also will remain closed between Fourth and Fifth until 9:00 p.m. Wednesday.
The ongoing closures are needed to accommodate equipment and contain falling debris while the contractor finishes demolition of the garage’s glass-paneled elevator shaft along Race Street.
The contractor removed the southeast corner of the garage this weekend.
Fourth Street east to Vine and the intersection of Fourth and Race reopened last night. Motorists
now able to turn left onto Race from Fourth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Oct. 7, 2016
MEDIA CONTACT: Ursula Thomas Miller, ursula.miller@cincinnati-oh.gov, or 513.352.3417
CINCINNATI – Beginning at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 8, crews will close Race Street between Third and Fifth and extend the current closure of Fourth Street east to Vine to allow for the continued demolition of a 10-story garage.
Fourth and Race streets are expected to reopen by 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, Oct. 10. The contractor will remove the southeast corner of the garage as part of this closure.
A new detour will be set up at Walnut and Fourth, and at Race and Fifth, which will include temporary two-way access to the Mablely Place Garage and the Hilton Netherland Hotel.
Please see the attached map for details.
The contractor, which is progressing faster than scheduled on the current phase, had planned to keep Fourth Street closed until Oct. 16, to remove the south side of the garage along its east-west length.
The rectangular-shaped garage extends a full city block on the north side of Fourth Street between Race and Elm streets.
“Although the additional closures are inconvenient in the short term, the result is positive,” said Michael Moore, director, Department of Transportation and Engineering. “The contractor is finishing the south side of the demolition quicker than expected and is ready to take down the southeast corner at Fourth and Race.”
Crews have been using a wrecking ball and high-reach excavator, and working two shifts daily since Oct. 3, to expedite this phase of the demolition.
As part of the new detour, local access will be allowed from Walnut west on Fourth to the entrance of the Mabley Place Garage just before Race Street. The short stretch between the Mabley entrance and Vine will be temporarily converted to allow two-way access. Motorists traveling on Fourth will have the option to detour south at Walnut to Third, or north on Vine to Fifth.
Race Street will be closed to through traffic at Fifth Street but local access will be allowed for the Hilton Netherland Hotel. Race will be temporarily converted to two-way on the northern end of the work site from the Hilton valet entrance to Fifth and on the southern end of the site between Third and Fourth.
Detour signs are posted to help direct motorists and pedestrians.
Police will be on site at key locations to facilitate local access for businesses with vehicles loading and unloading. In addition, Benham Alley and West Ogden Place remain open for access and deliveries to businesses on the south side of Fourth Street.
Pedestrian access to all businesses, apartments and office buildings remains open at all times via a protected sidewalk on the south side of Fourth Street. Large tarps also have been hung on Fourth Street to contain excess debris.
Area businesses are open throughout the demolition. Visit the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. website for a list of retail shops, service businesses and restaurants in the area. Follow this link: http://www.3cdc.org/2016/10/07/fourth-street-open-for-business-as-pogues-garage-comes-down/.
Demolition will continue for several months. The site, which is connected by skywalks to Mabley Place and Saks Department Store, is being cleared to make room for construction of a mixed-use residential and commercial tower.
The curb lane and sidewalks around the site on Elm, Fourth and Race streets will remain closed until demolition is complete in February 2017.