Fort Washington Highway Cap: Cincinnati's $110M Big Idea
Danny Baron
Fort Washington Highway Cap: Cincinnati's $110M Big Idea
Here's a wild idea — what if the giant concrete trench cutting through downtown Cincinnati just... disappeared? That's exactly what the Fort Washington Highway Cap is trying to do. The plan would cover the sunken Fort Washington Way highway and replace it with blocks of green space, finally connecting downtown Cincinnati straight to the Ohio River. If you live here, own property here, or just care about where this city is headed, this is the project to watch.
What Is the Fort Washington Highway Cap?
The Fort Washington Highway Cap is a plan to build a giant deck over the sunken section of Fort Washington Way — the highway that runs right through the middle of downtown Cincinnati. On top of that deck would sit two full blocks of tree-lined green space between Race and Walnut Streets, plus open plazas on both sides.
The end result? A seamless public park running from Third Street all the way down to Pete Rose Way, with zero highway visible in between. Here's the part that surprises most people — this idea isn't new. It goes all the way back to the Fort Washington Way reconstruction that finished in 2000. That project was specifically built to make a future cap possible. Engineers drove structural pilings into the ground during that reconstruction just to support a future deck. The city spent about $10 million on that foundation work over twenty years ago. The groundwork is literally already there.
Why Is Fort Washington Way Such a Big Problem?
Fort Washington Way sits in a trench that is 25 feet deep and 150 feet wide. It runs right between Second Street to the south and Third Street to the north. If you've ever tried walking from downtown to Smale Riverfront Park or The Banks, you know the feeling. There's a massive concrete hole in the way, and it completely kills the flow of the city.
The frustrating part is that everything you'd want is right there. The Ohio River, Paycor Stadium, Great American Ball Park, great restaurants, bars — all within walking distance. The highway trench is the one thing making that walk feel awkward and disconnected.
A cap fixes that completely. You'd be able to walk from the heart of downtown all the way to the river without running into a single barrier. That's the whole point.
What Would the Cap Actually Look Like?
Picture a park sitting on top of a bridge. The highway keeps running underneath. Up top, you get grass, trees, plazas, and walking paths. It would feel like the highway was never there.
The design calls for a continuous green corridor — a park that connects the central business district directly to The Banks, smooth and uninterrupted. Tim Sharp, Chief Strategic Officer at KZF Design — one of the firms that worked on the original highway reconstruction — described it as a place where people from all over the region come to play, come for events, and come to celebrate.
Think about what that looks like in real life. A Bengals watch party spread across the park on game day. A weekend festival with the river in the background. Or just a normal lunch break walk from your office down to the waterfront without any concrete canyon in the way. That everyday use is what makes these projects matter so much over time.
The Three Big Ideas Behind the Cap
The whole vision comes down to three simple goals.
Close the gap. The trench has split downtown from the riverfront for decades. The cap fills that gap with a park instead of concrete, giving people a clear, easy path from the CBD to the river.
Good public space builds good real estate. Parks and plazas aren't just nice to have — they drive property values and neighborhood growth. Every city that has done a project like this has seen the same thing happen: great public space makes everything around it more valuable.
Great on game day, great every day. The cap would handle massive crowds during Bengals and Reds games. But the bigger win is what it does on a regular Tuesday — giving downtown workers and residents a real reason to get outside and be part of the neighborhood.
What Have Other Cities Seen From Projects Like This?
The best example is Klyde Warren Park in Dallas — a 5-acre park built over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway that opened in 2012. The results were hard to argue with.
Over $1 billion in nearby real estate development followed the park's opening
Properties that used to look out over a freeway trench suddenly had the best views in the area
A U.S. Department of Transportation study found that more than 90% of park visitors said it seriously improved their quality of life
Dallas saw a 61% jump in transit ridership on the nearby M-line trolley after the park opened
Cincinnati isn't Dallas — different city, different scale. But the core idea works the same everywhere: connect two parts of a city with great green space, and the economic activity follows. Pittsburgh has already done a version of this. Philadelphia and Atlanta are working on their own. Cincinnati has a real shot to join that list — and unlike most of those cities, the structural foundation here is already built.
How Much Will This Cost?
The total price tag is about $110 million. That breaks down into roughly $80 to $90 million for the deck and structural work, plus another $15 to $20 million to build out the park on top.
The City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County teamed up to apply for federal money through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program — a federal program created specifically to help cities reconnect neighborhoods that got divided by old highway projects. Cincinnati applied in 2023 and again in March 2024. Both times, the city was not selected.
That stings. The program got 435 applications from 48 states asking for more than $2 billion in its first year, and the available funding couldn't cover even a fraction of that demand. It's an extremely competitive pool.
But Cincinnati isn't giving up. The city has confirmed it will keep pursuing other grant opportunities. Community support for the project remains strong. And the Dallas model shows there's another way to make it work — nearly half of Klyde Warren Park's funding came from private and corporate donors, not public money alone. A mix of federal grants, private investment, and local public funding is the most realistic path forward.
Mayor Aftab Pureval has called this a once-in-a-generation opportunity to go after the big projects Cincinnati has been dreaming about. Big infrastructure moves slowly — but it does move.
What Does This Mean for Cincinnati Real Estate?
This is the part that matters most if you're watching the market. A finished cap would completely change the corridor between downtown and The Banks. Properties that currently face the Fort Washington Way trench — office buildings, apartment towers, ground-floor retail — would go from looking at a concrete ditch to looking at a park that leads straight to the river.
The Dallas numbers tell the story. A $110 million investment produced more than $1 billion in nearby real estate development. That's roughly a 9-to-1 return in surrounding property value. Look at what's already happening at The Banks and Smale Riverfront Park right now. That momentum is real and growing. A highway cap would let that energy flow all the way into the core of downtown — and that's a very big deal for anyone buying, selling, or investing in this market.
So When Does This Actually Happen?
Honest answer — nobody knows yet. This project is still in the early stages. The federal funding search has had setbacks. The full $110 million isn't secured. And big infrastructure projects take years from planning to breaking ground.
That said, Cincinnati isn't starting from scratch. The structural pilings are already in the ground. The city spent $10 million on that foundation work back in 2000 specifically for this purpose. The plan has real community support. And the city has been clear that the pursuit is ongoing.
The most realistic path forward is some combination of future federal grants, private and corporate donations, and local public investment — similar to how Klyde Warren Park got funded in Dallas.
The Bottom Line
Here's the short version. Cincinnati has a $110 million plan to cover a 25-foot-deep concrete trench, drop a multi-block park on top of it, and finally connect downtown directly to the riverfront the way it should have always been connected. The foundation is already in the ground. The city is still chasing funding. And when this gets built, the impact on the surrounding neighborhood — and the real estate market — could be massive.
❓Frequently Asked Questions About the Fort Washington Highway Cap
Q: What is the Fort Washington Highway Cap? A: It's a plan to build a structural deck over the sunken section of Fort Washington Way — the highway that runs through the middle of downtown Cincinnati. On top of that deck would sit multiple blocks of tree-lined green space, plus open plazas on both sides. The goal is to finally connect downtown Cincinnati directly to the Ohio River, as if the highway was never there.
Q: Has Cincinnati always planned to cap Fort Washington Way? A: Actually, yes. The idea dates all the way back to the Fort Washington Way reconstruction that finished in 2000. That project was specifically engineered to allow for a future cap. Engineers drove structural pilings into the ground during the reconstruction just to support a future deck. The city invested about $10 million in that foundation work over twenty years ago. The groundwork is already there.
Q: How much will the Fort Washington Highway Cap cost? A: The total estimated cost is about $110 million. That breaks down into roughly $80 to $90 million for the deck and structural work, plus another $15 to $20 million to build out the park on top. Funding is still being pursued through a combination of federal grants, private investment, and local public dollars.
Q: Has Cincinnati received any federal funding for the cap yet? A: Not yet. The City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County applied for federal funding through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program — a program created specifically to help cities fix neighborhoods that got divided by old highway projects. Cincinnati applied in 2023 and again in March 2024 and was not selected either time. The program received 435 applications from 48 states asking for more than $2 billion in its first year, so the competition was incredibly tough. The city has confirmed it will keep pursuing other opportunities.
Q: What would the cap actually look like? A: Think of a park built on top of a bridge. The highway keeps running underneath while you get grass, trees, plazas, and walking paths up top. The design calls for a continuous green corridor between Race and Walnut Streets, connecting the central business district directly to The Banks — smooth and uninterrupted. It would feel like the highway was never there.
Q: Have other cities done something like this? A: Yes, and the results have been impressive. The best example is Klyde Warren Park in Dallas — a 5-acre park built over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway that opened in 2012. After the park opened, the area saw over $1 billion in nearby real estate development. A U.S. Department of Transportation study found that more than 90% of park visitors said it seriously improved their quality of life. Dallas also saw a 61% jump in transit ridership on the nearby M-line trolley. Pittsburgh has completed a similar project, and Philadelphia and Atlanta are working on their own versions.
Q: Why is Fort Washington Way considered such a big barrier? A: The highway sits in a trench that is 25 feet deep and 150 feet wide, running right between Second Street to the south and Third Street to the north. It physically cuts off downtown from the riverfront. Anyone who has tried walking from downtown to Smale Riverfront Park or The Banks knows exactly what that feels like — there's a massive concrete hole in the way that completely breaks the flow of the city.
Q: What does the Fort Washington Highway Cap mean for Cincinnati real estate? A: It's a big deal for anyone watching the market. Properties that currently face the Fort Washington Way trench — office buildings, apartment towers, ground-floor retail — would go from looking at a concrete ditch to looking at a park leading straight to the river. The Dallas comparison says it all: a $110 million investment produced more than $1 billion in nearby real estate development. That's roughly a 9-to-1 return in surrounding property value. When this gets built, the impact on the surrounding market could be massive.
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