Flying Pig Marathon 2018: Street closures and transit detours

CINCINNATI -- For the 20th annual Flying Pig Marathon, it might be easier to ditch the keys.

That's because the race will mean dozens of road closures until roughly noon Sunday, city officials announced.

The city advises spectators wishing to park near the starting line -- on Elm Street near Paul Brown Stadium -- to arrive early before the streets close.

Here's the route:

Sunday, May 6

You'll want to strap in for this list of closures. 

The following streets closed around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, to begin staging preparation for the marathon starting line:

• Mehring Way – closed between Central Avenue and Joe Nuxhall Way
• Elm Street – closed south of Second Street
• Freedom Way – closed between Elm Street and Race Street

Then, starting at 5 a.m., these streets also closed. Keep in mind that Cincinnati police will be on hand to assist anyone needing to cross the race route:

• Second Street – all access to Second Street will close
• Joe Nuxhall Way – closed between Mehring Way and Third Street
• Broadway – closed south of Third Street
• Taylor Southgate Bridge – closed
• Clay Wade Bailey Bridge – closed
• Third Street – closed between Gest Street and Central Avenue
• Gest Street – northbound closed between Mehring Way and Linn Street
• Seventh Street – closed between Central Avenue and Gilbert Avenue (Vehicles from the garage at Seventh and Broadway will be permitted to exit at Seventh Street and continue across Broadway to E. Seventh St)
• Seventh Street exit from southbound Interstate 75 - closed
• Central Avenue – closed between Seventh Street and Sixth Street
• Plum Street – closed between Eighth Street and Seventh Street
• Elm Street – closed between Sixth Street and Seventh Street
• Race Street – closed between Garfield Place and Seventh Street
• Vine Street – closed between Sixth Street and Seventh Street
• Walnut Street – closed between Eighth Street and Seventh Street
• Main Street – closed between Sixth Street and Seventh Street
• Sycamore Street – closed between Eighth Street and Seventh Street
• Broadway – closed between Sixth Street and Seventh Street
• Gilbert Avenue – northbound closed between Seventh St. and Martin Luther King Dr.
• Gilbert Avenue – closed between Elsinore Place and Eden Park Drive
• Eden Park Drive – closed between Gilbert Avenue and Victory Parkway
• Fulton Avenue – closed between Nassau Street and Eden Park Drive
• Art Museum Drive – closed between Ida Street and Eden Park Drive
• Lake Drive – closed
• Victory Parkway – northbound closed between Eden Park Drive and McMillan Avenue
• McMillan Avenue – closed between Victory Parkway and Woodburn Avenue
• Woodburn Avenue – closed between McMillan Avenue and Madison Road
• Madison Road – eastbound closed between Woodburn Avenue and Erie Avenue
• Erie Avenue – eastbound closed between Madison Road and Bramble Avenue
• Paxton Avenue – northbound closed between Observatory Avenue and Erie Avenue
• Murray Avenue – eastbound closed between Erie Avenue and LaCrosse Avenue
• Bramble Avenue – eastbound closed between Erie Avenue and Settle Avenue

The race then moves into Mariemont and Fairfax, then returns on westbound U.S. 50/Columbia Parkway:

• US 50/Columbia Parkway – single westbound curb lane closed between the Cincinnati Corporation Line and Eastern Avenue off ramp (westbound US 50 ramp to Eastern Avenue is closed)
• Ramp from Red Bank Road to Westbound Columbia Parkway – closed
• Eastern Avenue – westbound closed between Columbia Parkway and Stanley Avenue
• Stanley Avenue – southbound closed between Eastern Avenue and Kellogg Avenue 
• Kellogg Avenue – westbound closed between Stanley Avenue and Worth Street
• Riverside Drive – eastbound closed between E. Pete Rose Way and Worth Street
• E. Pete Rose Way – eastbound closed between Johnny Bench Way and Riverside Drive (may open earlier for garage access)
• Mehring Way – closed between Central Avenue and E. Pete Rose Way

To accommodate the half-marathon route, these roads will also close as needed:

• Madison Road – eastbound closed between Victory Parkway and Woodburn Avenue
• Martin Luther King – eastbound closed between Gilbert Avenue and Victory Parkway
• Gilbert Avenue – northbound closed between Eden Park Dr. and Martin Luther King Dr.
• Sinton Avenue – closed between Gilbert Avenue and Nassau Street
• Nassau Street – closed between Sinton Avenue and Gilbert Avenue
• Elsinore Place – closed between Reading Road and Gilbert Avenue
• Reading Road – northbound closed between Central Parkway and Elsinore Place
• Central Parkway – closed between Eggleston Avenue and Vine Street
• Eggleston Avenue – southbound closed between Central Pkwy. and E. Pete Rose Way
• Eggleston Avenue – northbound closed between Third Street and Broadway

Public transit

The street closures also mean some detours and service interruptions for Cincinnati Metro bus service and the streetcar in Downtown.

The streetcar will begin running around noon both Saturday and Sunday. It takes roughly 30 minutes after the races conclude to resume service.

For Metro, the races will impact the following routes:

• Friday: Route 85 Riverfront Parking Shuttle will detour from noon until 3:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Detours will begin at 8 a.m. until about noon for Route 27 Northside-Casey Ave.
• Sunday: Detours will begin at 6 a.m. until roughly 2 p.m. for Routes 4, 6, 11, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 43, 46, 49, 51, 50, 64 and 78. 

Here's more detailed information on the specific detours per route.

Jaclyn DeAugustino reports on traffic for Good Morning Tri-State. Connect with her on Twitter (@JaclynDeAug) or on Facebook.

Pat LaFleur reports on transportation and mobility for WCPO. Connect with him on Twitter (@pat_laFleur) and on Facebook.