Leaving a project unfinished that has taken years in the planning, has shed the blood and sweat of construction workers, can be a soul-sapping experience. The decision to walk away after hundreds of man-hours and hundreds of millions of dollars already invested can be a hard pill to swallow.
Many inhabitants of Cincinnati decry the fact that they do not have a subway system when most major cities in the United States have an underground rapid transport system that runs silently, constantly throughout the days. These systems can be the lifeblood of any city, connecting inhabitants efficiently and cheaply to jobs, relatives, and friends.
What is not widely known, however, is that Cincinnati does indeed have an underground subway system, one that is largely unfinished, totally abandoned, and completely forgotten, but it is there.
But why is it not in service when there is clearly a need for it?
At one stage in its history, Cincinnati was one of the tenth largest cities in America and was a major trading center, attracting new industries, businesses, and workers. This increasing influx of new enterprises and people quickly began to put a strain on the infrastructure which consisted of a network primarily of streetcars.
The solution put forward by the then Mayor, Henry Thomas Hunt, was to create a new rapid transit system beneath the streets of Cincinnati. His suggestion was met with a positive response and was quickly supported by the City Council.
The year was 1916, plans were drawn up, routes were planned and the money was set aside for the new subway system. A feeling of pride and relief washed over the city as the go-ahead was given, finally.
However, the initial budget of $12 million drawn up by experts and architects proved to be more than the city could handle at the time and had to be downgraded to $6 million. A start date was finally set, construction materials and machinery were purchased, workers contracted, all systems were ready to go.
And then the First World War descended upon the world. All plans had to be scrapped even before the first shovelful of dirt could be dug. The delay lasted until January 28, 1920, before a new start date could be set, already four years late.
The effects of World War 1, however, were still to be felt as the unexpected post-war inflation effect literally doubled the cost of the construction back up to the original figure of $12 million. With no other choice but to swallow the extra costs, work started, but painfully further delays continued to hound the project. Dynamite used to clear the tunnels at one stage created structural damages to nearby properties and infrastructure, and the ensuing litigations severely depleted the already dwindling funds to breaking point.
But there was still worse to come, believe it or not, in the form of the Great Depression in 1928, when everything ground to a shuddering halt, with no foreseeable way forward.
Years turned into decades, with numerous suggestions put forward with what to do with this enormous crater under the city. None of them were viable, either requiring too much investment to restart the project or were just not suitable for the modernizing city.
Political infighting, World War ll, and even the increasing availability of cars, impacted the plans to revive the Cincinnati subway system, and to this very day the seven miles of tunnels, with a final cost of $13,019,982.45, remain abandoned, all entrances sealed by brick walls, and on track to go nowhere at all.
