When complete, the Ohio River Trail will run from Downtown to New Richmond, passing through Lunken Airport (above) in the East End. A long-planned leg of the Ohio River Trail won a cash infusion from a key funder Thursday.
The first phase of the Oasis Trail, a 4.75-mile shared-use path from Sawyer Point to Lunken Airport, will get $8 million in federal dollars from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
The group, known as OKI, announced $50.7 million in awards for 18 transportation projects in Greater Cincinnati, following endorsement from its board on Thursday morning. The awards will be distributed for fiscal year 2028, with 10 in Ohio and eight in Kentucky.
Great Parks of Hamilton County will use its $8 million to construct 2.1 miles of the Oasis Trail, starting at Downtown’s Montgomery Inn Boathouse and stretching to Gladstone Avenue in East Walnut Hill.
The award is its largest ever, park officials said in a press release. The trail will benefit the people who use it and the communities it passes through by providing a "significant and safe link to downtown Cincinnati,” Great Parks CEO Todd Palmeter said in the release.
The Oasis Trail will cost $16.4 million in total, up from an earlier estimate of $13 million, parks said. The park system expects to hire design and engineering contractors for the work next month, with construction slated to begin by October 2027.
Great Parks will seek additional funding from OKI next year for phase two of the project, extending the trail […]
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