Subway Tunnel Repurposing

Project Description: The City owns a buried concrete tunnel approximately 2 miles long originally built in the mid-1920s for rail transit (a subway tunnel). However, the tunnel has never been utilized for that purpose. The tunnel is situated beneath Central Parkway, an arterial street in central Cincinnati beginning in the downtown neighborhood near Walnut Street and ending just north of the Western Hills Viaduct/McMillan Street intersection with Central Parkway just east of Interstate 75. The tunnel and Central Parkway occupy the approximate route of a segment of the former Ohio and Erie Canal. Currently, a 48-inch diameter concrete water main and several communications cables occupy the tunnel, but otherwise, it is unused. The City is seeking conceptual proposals to identify potential firms and gather ideas for utilizing the tunnel for a commercial or other purpose. The City may use this information in a Request for Proposals (RFP) which may be issued in the future.