HEBRON, Ky. — Four months after the planned demolition of the Graves Road bridge, the new interchange between Graves Road and I-275 has opened, after a fast-tracked construction schedule.
The interchange officially opened Saturday, allowing drivers to take the new Exit 8 off I-275.
"To have this interchange opened in a construction season is a big success, a big win for us," said Nancy Wood, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 6 spokesperson.
The interchange is designed in a double crossover diamond (DCD), which was also newly implemented in West Chester earlier this year. The diamond pattern is intended to be safer for drivers by eliminating left turns into oncoming traffic.
The Graves Road bridge was closed for months even before it was demolished and the new traffic pattern is anticipated to help traffic flow more effectively through Hebron, while helping out local businesses in the area.
"Growing up here, it's definitely changed," said Alyssa Scheid, who works at Longneck Sports Grill in Hebron. "It used to be not congested. There used to be not all these buildings around here. But now it's super backed up all the time. Especially around four or five [p.m.]."
The KYTC said one of the big benefits of finally opening the Graves Road interchange is that it will alleviate traffic coming in and out of industrial parks near CVG.
"I think it's mainly Amazon and the warehouse buildings back there," said Scheid. "During the holidays, they have to have police escorting Amazon trucks and stuff because it gets so congested."
Scheid said the backup of tractor trailers in the area has been bad for business, since people living in the area don't want to venture out for dinner or shopping with so much heavy traffic with which to contend. She said she hopes the commercial traffic sticks to the new Graves Road interchange, clearing up North Bend and other areas for local traffic.
Wood said that's exactly what KYTC planned the interchange would do.
"We're taking a lot of truck traffic, industrial traffic, off of 237, North Bend Road," she said.
The interchange is open, but more work on Graves Road is still planned to continue into 2022. The DCD interchange is one of seven major road construction projects going on across the Northern Kentucky region, totaling nearly $250 million in planned improvements.
