New I-65 bridge at Louisville to open by Christmas
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A downtown interstate bridge across the Ohio River to Indiana will open for traffic by Christmas, nearly four months earlier than projected, several officials announced Monday in a briefing atop the new bridge.
Once the new span opens for traffic, construction plans call for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, a seven-lane bridge that now carries all Interstate 65 traffic across the river, to be closed so workers can undertake a $22 million renovation. The new bridge, begun in 2013, is expected to carry I-65 northbound traffic, and the Kennedy Bridge will be used for southbound vehicles by October 2016.
"It's exciting to be here and stand on a bridge that was for decades a nebulous vision," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said. Joining him were Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Mayor Mike Moore of Jeffersonville, Ind., on the opposite shore.
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Before the new bridge opens for traffic, pedestrians will be able to get a close look. Fischer, Ellspermann, Moore and Beshear each signed a gold-painted bolt to be put in the bridge toward the end of construction.
Mike Hancock, secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, said the new bridge will have 76,000 bolts when it's finished and said the date to reopen the Kennedy Bridge hasn't moved even though the new bridge is opening earlier than expected.
"Extra time is needed to make sure that as we do a full-depth replacement of the deck, we do it correctly," he said.
Three bridges now connect Louisville to Jeffersonville:
• Big Four Bridge, a former railroad bridge completed in 1895 that is now used as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
• John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, completed in late 1963 to carry I-65 traffic.
• George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, completed in 1929 to carry U.S. 31 traffic.
Two railroad bridges also connect the city to Indiana as well as the Sherman Minton Bridge that carries I-64 traffic between the city and New Albany, Ind. The Kentucky and Indiana portions of I-265, intended to be a loop around the city, do not connect in part because of a lack of bridges both up- and downstream from Louisville.
Another part of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project will be a span to connect the east end of Louisville near Prospect, Ky., to the opposite shore near Utica, Ind. Because new roads and a new bridge are part of this project, a final date for its completion doesn't appear to be certain. A timetable on the project's website does not list an opening date.
Jeffersonville residents, many of whom commute to Kentucky for work, likely will breathe a sigh of relief when the I-65 project is complete, Moore said.
"I'm the happiest guy in the world right now." he said. "Once time passes and the orange cones are gone, my goodness, travel to Louisville and just into Kentucky will be so much easier."
