LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41)---With the final phase of construction underway on the Kennedy Bridge, drivers are counting down to the project being finished!
"It was rough. I was wondering when they were gonna fix it," says Tony Gibson, a Louisville driver.
Before repairs to the Kennedy Bridge, the ride was anything but smooth with pothole problems.
Now, drivers are giving feedback on the changes so far.
"I've noticed that it's improved actually. It used to be real bad. Almost caught airtime, but it's not like that anymore," says driver Joseph Jones.
"It was really rough on the cars, but I've been back across there the last few days and it was pretty smooth," says Tony Gibson.
Officials say for those feeling some bumps, there's a reason why.
"Not every joint on the bridge was replaced. To try to tie that new concrete back into existing elevations and those existing joints, so the ride is going to be a little rough in those areas where we weren't able to replace those joints," says Andrea Clifford with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
What a lot of drivers say they're looking forward to is the work being finished so they don't have to deal with the congestion on all the bridges.
"It must have took me 45 minutes just to get across the 2nd street bridge. It makes the downtown traffic really bad over in Louisville," says Tony Gibson.
From the Sherman Minton shutdown to the Kennedy Bridge repairs, it's been a rough year for drivers. They'll hopefully soon get some relief.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials say the next major project they will be involved with will be the start of the downtown bridge for the Ohio River Bridges project.
They say that part of the project isn't happening anytime soon.
"When they do, the Kennedy Bridge will be converted to southbound lanes only of Interstate 65. They'll have to remove the median barrier wall and they're going to put a completely new deck on the bridge, but that's still a few years away," says Andrea Clifford.
If all goes as planned, officials will reopen all Kennedy bridge lanes this upcoming Wednesday.. at 5 a.m. They say it seems they are on schedule to finish up on time.
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