The Ohio Department of Transportation is investigating why I-71 near Ridge Avenue has flooded twice this summer, shutting down lanes on the highway Hyde Park and Oakley commuters depend on as their main north-south artery.

ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller told WVXU on Aug. 11, that the flooding is a "new phenomenon" and that the cause appears to lie upstream, on private or city-owned property rather than ODOT's own drainage infrastructure.

"We've investigated catch basins in the area. We're looking at erosion — things that are off of ODOT's system," Fuller said. "There's private property, city-owned property."

Standing water forced lane closures on I-71 near Ridge on July 17 and again on Aug. 7. During the July 17 storm, both northbound and southbound lanes were submerged, forcing drivers to pull onto the left shoulder, WCPO reported. That same evening, Cincinnati Fire responded to 165 water-related incidents across the city. Oakley led with 33 responses; Hyde Park followed with 20.

Fuller said ODOT's own drainage system is "in good repair" and that crews check it regularly. As of Aug. 11, workers were clearing storm drains and doing erosion control along the embankment on ODOT property ahead of predicted storms.

The agency is now working with the City of Cincinnati to pinpoint the source of the upstream erosion and find a fix. No timeline for the investigation has been announced, and the city has not publicly commented on what property or infrastructure may be responsible.

A distinct problem from Duck Creek and MSD failures

The I-71 flooding is a separate infrastructure issue from the Duck Creek floodgate failure and Metropolitan Sewer District sewer backups that have driven east-side flooding coverage this summer. As we reported Aug. 4, those residential floods revived questions about development density along Madison Road.

The highway closures add another layer: even if MSD fixes its sewers and Duck Creek's floodgates hold, commuters could still face shutdowns on the region's main north-south artery until the upstream erosion is addressed.

The flooding comes amid record rainfall on the East Side. The National Weather Service station at Lunken Airport recorded 21.95 inches between June 1 and July 31, the highest two-month total since record-keeping began in 1948. June alone saw 11.77 inches, the rainiest single month on record.

Mayor Aftab Pureval, responding to the July 21 east-side flooding, told WLWT on Aug. 2 that the repeated storms are "the new normal" and said the city must invest in infrastructure to become more resilient.

Cincinnati City Council approved $2 million in emergency flood relief on Aug. 6 and established a Flood Resilience Task Force to study long-term fixes. Whether the I-71 upstream erosion falls within that task force's scope has not been stated.

No public meeting or comment deadline tied to the ODOT investigation has been announced. Residents who experience flooding can report sewer-related damage to MSD at 513-352-4900.