Medical corridor forming along Interstate 74

Published July 14, 2009 at 12:00 a.m.
As the population of Cincinnati's west side continues to grow and shiftto the north and west, so too does the area's medical services.  Thepreviously untapped market in western Hamilton County is now beingaggressively pursued  by hospitals and medical services looking toestablish long-term roots in the developing communities.

Inrecent years outpatient medical buildings have popped up off of theRybolt Road/Harrison Avenue exit off Interstate 74 in Green Township. Those have been followed by the recent announcement of Mercy Health Partners'plans to consolidate their western Hamilton County operations into onefacility off the North Bend Road exit along I-74 also in Green Township.

Thenew $200 million Mercy West Hospital will be located on a 60-acre siteand could potentially open within four to five years following a recentzoning approval from the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission. The new hospital would feature 200 to 250 beds and will replace MercyHealth Partner's other west side locations - Mercy Hospital WesternHills and Mercy Hospital Mount Airy.

Not far behind is Tri-Health'sGood Samaritan Hospital which announced earlier this month that it hasits eyes on another Green Township location along the I-74 corridor. The Good Samaritan Medical Center at Western Ridge would include anemergency room and outpatient center operations.

Plans for theGood Sam medical center call for a groundbreaking this year with hopesof opening by the fall of 2010 and will be developed by BremnerDuke Healthcare Real Estate.  The completed facility would boast 24-hour emergency services, a helipad and X-ray imaging.

Noteveryone is viewing the new investment as a positive for the oncesleepy area of rolling hills and thick woodland areas.  The Mercy WestHospital came under significant criticism by nearby residents fearfulof the additional traffic and congestion the hospital would bring toNorth Bend Road and the surrounding streets.

The Good SamaritanMedical Center at Western Ridge will be built on a hillside oncecovered with dense vegetation that has now been stripped clean - aprocess that took place just up the road when the Western Commonsretail development went in a few short years ago.

The RyboltRoad/Harrison Avenue exit is also already plagued by congestion whichengineers hope to resolve with the ongoing reconstruction project ofthe on/off ramps to I-74, the widening of Harrison Avenue and therealignment of the hilly Rybolt Road.

Further east at the NorthBend exit, drivers are awaiting the completion of the ramp meters thatwill regulate traffic flow onto the interstate during peak drivingtimes in hopes of reducing further congestion problems along thatstretch of I-74 - something that may soon be in the cards for theRybolt Road/Harrison Avenue exit as well.

It is yet to be seenwhether these solutions will help reduce the traffic congestion thathas come along with the rapid development along the I-74 corridorthrough western Hamilton County, but it is certain that the developmentwill continue to come as the corridor grows into the business andcommercial hub for the west side that has limited transportationconnection to the rest of the region.

Writer: Randy Simes
Photography by Roland Johnson and provided by The Hillside Trust




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