The Lytle Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel that carries Interstate 71 (I-71) under the historic

Lytle Park Lytle Park Historic District is a historic district in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Roughly bounded by 3rd, 5th, Sycamore, Commercial Sq., and Butler Sts. in downtown Cincinnati, it centers on Lytle Park. In 2014, Western & Southern Finan ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, connecting

Fort Washington Way Fort Washington Way is an approximately section of freeway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The eight-lane divided highway is a concurrent section of Interstate 71 (I-71) and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) that runs from west to east ...

to the Northeast Expressway. It is a six-lane tunnel with three tubes. There is a two-lane southbound tube, a three lane-northbound tube, and a one-lane southbound tube that separates from the highway and serves as an exit ramp to the downtown area. The tunnel is ventilated by two grates in the northbound tube and the southbound exiting tube. It was completed in 1970. At , it is the longest vehicular tunnel in Ohio. It is also the only tunnel on I-71. During the construction of the Lytle Tunnel, many historic buildings were razed for the project. The old

was similar to a town square, with many

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

buildings surrounding the park. On the park's east side is the

Taft Museum of Art The Taft Museum of Art is a fine art collection in Cincinnati, Ohio. It occupies the 200-year-old historic house at 316 Pike Street. The house – the oldest domestic wooden structure in downtown Cincinnati – was built about 1820 and housed ...

. A few of the original buildings remain, including the

Literary Club of Cincinnati The Literary Club of Cincinnati is located at 500 East Fourth Street, across from Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The club occupies a two-story Greek Revival house which was built in 1820, on the site of the home of William Sargent, secr ...

, the

Anna Louise Inn The Anna Louise Inn is a women's facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing affordable housing and supportive services to economically vulnerable single women, supporting them to reach greater self-sufficiency. It is operated by HER Cincinnati, former ...

, Guilford School building, and the Phelps Apartments. A CB radio broadcast on channel 19, the most commonly used commercial trucking frequency, loops a warning about this turn and its hazards 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

History

During a period between January 2001 and May 2003, the tunnel was notorious for many truck accidents in the tunnel. The two main reasons for this were: * Truck drivers were not obeying the warning signs at the beginning of the tubes. * There was a sharp curve near and in the tunnel. In May 2003, the

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all Interstates except the Ohio T ...

installed

radar speed sign A radar speed sign is an interactive sign, generally constructed of a series of LEDs, that displays vehicle speed as motorists approach. The purpose of radar speed signs is to slow cars down by making drivers aware when they are driving at speed ...

s at the ends of the tunnel that would show the posted speed for trucks along with the actual speed of the vehicle. Hazmats and explosives are not allowed in the Lytle Tunnel. Immediately after construction of the Lytle Tunnel, the 550 E Fourth Street apartments (2 buildings) and were built on air rights over the tunnel along with the reconstruction of Lytle Park, which became the first park built over an interstate highway.

References

Roads in Cincinnati Tunnels in Ohio Tunnels completed in 1970 Interstate 71 Road tunnels in the United States {{US-tunnel-stub

History

See also

References