Issues

Bridges

In Louisville, finding a way across the Ohio River has been a point of debate since the 1830s. Today, we have two major interstate bridges connecting Louisville to southern Indiana. However, with our growing population and expansion into the county, our bridge needs have increased without any action to solve the problem. Our newest bridge, The Kennedy Bridge (where Interstate 65 crosses the Ohio River), was completed in 1963.  Forty-seven years later, we are still trying to find a way across the river. 

For Louisville to grow, we must build a bridge in Eastern Jefferson County. The absence of this bridge is costing Louisville jobs and revenue. The cost of this project has grown exponentially since debate began. We must complete this project and move our community forward. 

There are concerns about the amount of traffic generated around the Kennedy Interchange (Spaghetti Junction) and proposals have been made for complicated, time-consuming, and expensive transformation projects that could only worsen the problem. 

We have to think outside of the box. Instead of building 2 interstate bridges, we should look at the possible benefits of 3 strategically placed local access bridges connecting Louisville to Southern Indiana to accompany the one interstate bridge. Local access bridges will alleviate much of the commuting traffic congestion from the interstates and interchanges around the major interstate bridges, at a fraction of the cost. 

Louisville is the largest city in the state, yet has the same number of Ohio River crossing bridges as Owensboro and Henderson, Kentucky. Owensboro completed the William Natcher local access bridge for $70 Million ($40 Million in Federal funds, and $30 Million from the State) and was completed in less than 8 years. We can do that in Louisville. 

Instead of spending $4.2 Billion on two interstate bridges, lets take a look at other, more cost effective and efficient possibilities. For Louisville to grow, we must build bridges.