Ohio Rt. 562, or simply "The Lateral", as it is always called by locals, is a three mile expressway that connects radial I-71 and I-75 through the industrial city of Norwood. Its western segment between I-75 and Reading Rd., which also includes the Paddock Rd. interchange, opened together with that stretch of I-75 in 1958. No additional work took place until the early 1970's, when the eastern two miles opened simultaneously with I-71. The eastern end of the expressway at I-71 was built on purchased right-of-way, but the Lateral's center mile parallels the B&O mainline along a strip of land graded in the early 1920's for a surface running portion of the never-finished subway. The westernmost segment between I-75 and the Reading Rd. interchange was also built along graded subway right-of-way. Expressway construction destroyed the southern part of a 900ft. tunnel built as part of this project under Section Rd., and the remainder of that tunnel was filled in. Another 900ft. tunnel existed until early 2004 east of Montgomery Rd., running parallel to but out of sight of the expressway. The tunnel's newly sealed east portal can be seen from Norwood Waterworks Park. Photos of these tunnels can be seen in the Norwood Tunnels section. Additionally, short overpasses built as part of the subway line over Paddock Rd. and Reading Rd. were demolished at the time of the expressway's construction.
I added the word "lateral" to this map -- please note that the official
name of the expressway is Rt. 562
and that "Norwood Lateral" never appears on any official maps or
signage.
Click here
for a larger
version of this map.
Despite most of the Lateral having been built during
the
early 1970's, the expressway's overall character more resembles a
1950's
pre-interstate expressway, leading me to believe that it might have
been
completed according to original plans drawn in the 1950's (although I
have
no confirmation of this). A center concrete barrier divides
traffic for most of the route, and where a grass median is present it
is
narrow. There are several abrupt grades and curves along the
route,
and overpass pillars as well as retaining walls are often unusually
close
to the edge of the road. Neither the eastbound or westbound
"Montgomery
Rd." exits lead directly onto Montgomery Rd., and merges at all ramps
are
short. Due to these design constraints, traffic rarely moves
faster
than 60 mph even during off-peak hours.
Readers cite trash, debris along Lateral
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Saturday, February 14, 2004
By Dave Hofmeister
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Several readers have written to point out the trashy appearance and
unsafe
conditions along the Norwood Lateral, Ohio 562.
John G. Banner, of Clifton, wrote:
On any given day, tires and other road debris are evident and remain
uncollected on the emergency lanes, as well as trash on the grassy
areas.
It
looks horrible. At night, I count over a dozen highway lights out of
action,
possibly creating a safety issue. Please contact the appropriate
authorities
to
prevent this situation from getting worse than it already is.
And this, from Steve Fleischer:
Is it just me, or do our highways and streets look like trash dumps in
the last
few years? I notice this particularly on the Norwood Lateral, which I
travel
frequently.
Why cannot the tires, etc., be cleaned up on a regular basis? Is this a
struggle
between the city of Norwood and the state? It just hacks me off to see
all this
trash, and makes Cincinnati look like a dump! It did not look this way
10-20
years ago. Any answers?
Yes.
Norwood and Cincinnati share maintenance responsibilities for the
highway
.
Norwood covers the area from Interstate 71 to just east of Reading Road;
Cincinnati handles the rest.
Both Tom White, Norwood's new superintendent of public works, and Denny
Meyer, superintendent of neighborhood operations for Cincinnati,
acknowledged that the Lateral's appearance is awful. White called it an
"eyesore and embarrassing." Both cited the cold and snowy weather for a
lack
of attention recently.
White said cleaning it up is a priority for the new city
administration.
He said
crews will be out beginning Tuesday morning, and he hopes to have them
out
there monthly.
Meyer said he'll send someone out to take a look, and a cleanup will be
scheduled in Cincinnati's area. He also said monthly cleanups are the
goal.
Volunteers sometimes help with ramp cleanup, Meyer said, but work along
the
Lateral itself usually requires a police escort because of traffic and
safety
concerns.
White said he is aware of the problem with the lights, and a contractor
will be
checking those.
This 3-level interchange and first segment of the Lateral as far as
Reading Rd. opened
simultaneously with the
Paddock Rd. to Northside extension of I-75 in 1958.
A never-used overpass for the subway originally stood here at the site
of the
Paddock Rd. interchange.
A view of the Reading Rd. interchange, looking north.
Another view of the Reading Rd. interchange, but looking south.
At this point the
Lateral diverges from the
subway route and moves south to parallel the B&O mainline.
View of the short viaduct over the B&O mainline. The Section
Rd. overpass is at right, and marks the point
where the Lateral returns to the old subway right-of-way. The
necessity of this elevated section is unlear, since
its construction was almost certainly more expensive than acquisition
of the small building at center.
Looking west from the Section Red. overpass.
View of the Lateral's center mile looking west, with the B&O
mainline
at left.
The Montgomery Ave./Seymour Ave. interchange ramps can be seen at
center,
and
the Reading Rd. interchange can be seen toward the top of the photo.
View of Montgomery Rd. at Seymour Ave.. Norwood's
main
business district is at bottom left, and the General Motors plant
was
formerly located where the new white building is at right.
View looking north at Forest Ave., just east of the above photo.
More of the old General Motors plant was located
at bottom left and bottom center. The plant closed in 1988, but
the large site was completely redeveloped as seen
here by the mid-1990's. The eastern of the two Norwood subway
tunnels existed under the complex of
buildings at center.
View looking west at the I-71 interchange. The Lateral's
interchange with I-71 is also
the site of a local interchange
with Ridge Rd. The Norfolk Southern mainline can be seen
at
center
right.