 The Citizens' Development Committee, headed by Cincinnati Gas & Electric executive Reed Hartman, championed a $16 million bond drive to fund the riverfront redevelopment project, which included the Third Street Distributor.On August 8, 1955, construction began on the first of many "piers" in the distributor system, a connector between the Louisville & Nashville Bridge and the Third Street Viaduct.Work began in earnest with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, which allocated federal funds to the $21 million project.