I-75 will shut down in both directions through downtown Cincinnati starting Friday, Sept. 25. Anderson Township, Mariemont and Terrace Park drivers will need detour routes all weekend through early Monday morning.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to close the interstate between Freeman Avenue and the I-71/I-75 split beginning at 11 p.m. Friday. The highway is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28, according to WKRC Local 12. The closure is weather permitting.

Crews need to position cranes on the interstate itself to lift nine steel girders onto newly built piers for the new Linn Street Bridge over I-75. The work is part of the $46.7 million Linn Street Reconstruction Project, which falls under the broader Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project.

What the detours look like

Northbound drivers will be routed from the I-71/I-75 split onto I-71 North and then westbound S.R. 562, the Norwood Lateral. Southbound drivers will take eastbound S.R. 562 and I-71 South to reconnect with I-75 at the Brent Spence Bridge, according to the I-75 Exit Guide.

Through traffic, especially heavy trucks, should use the I-275 outerbelt to bypass downtown entirely.

Entrance ramps from Fort Washington Way and Fourth Street and Sixth Street will begin closing at 9 p.m. Friday, two hours before the full shutdown.

Separate ramp closure starts Sunday

A second closure begins Sunday, Sept. 27, at or after 8:30 p.m. The ramp from eastbound U.S. 50 to southbound I-75 will close for roughly four months, into January 2027. That work is part of a new U.S. 50 East to I-75 South alignment under the Brent Spence corridor project.

Local business bracing for impact

Jack Wardle, general manager of K.E. Warehouse, a Cincinnati bonded warehouse and trucking operation, said the closure will mean longer truck arrival times and higher fuel costs. "Your idle time, so your fuel cost is going to go up because it's more miles," Wardle told WCPO. He said the company expects fewer deliveries per truck per day during the shutdown.

What's ahead

The new Linn Street Bridge will carry two driving lanes, bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides. Linn Street is expected to reopen to traffic in fall 2027, with the full Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project scheduled for completion in spring 2029.

Drivers can monitor ODOT message boards for real-time updates during the closure weekend.