I-64 in downtown Louisville among ‘freeways without futures,’ report says

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Interstate 64 in downtown Louisville is one of ten “freeways without futures” in the U.S., according to a national urban planning group that claims the route is prime for removal.

By including I-64 on its annual list, the Congress for the New Urbanism is bringing new attention to the dormant "8664" proposal to tear down the elevated highway and make it a surface-level parkway near Waterfront Park.

The congress, which is holding its annual meeting in Louisville in June, says converting I-64 into a boulevard between Interstate 65 and the I-264 Georgia Davis Powers Expressway to the west could free up dozens of acres of land for parks and pedestrians.

Kentucky and Indiana officials declined to pursue the 8664 plan as it evaluated the $2.3 billion Ohio River Bridges Project, which added new spans downtown and upriver. Besides advocating for an I-64 parkway, the 8664 movement opposed a downtown bridge in favor of just an eastern crossing.

The Congress for the New Urbanism noted that traffic on the I-65 Kennedy and Lincoln bridges has declined since tolling began in late 2016 once the bridges project was finished, as WDRB News first reported.

“There is, however, a silver lining to this underuse and overexpenditure on highway infrastructure: The same basic urban conditions that spurred the 8664 movement are still in place, and I-64 remains a prime candidate for removal in order to downsize infrastructure to a level appropriate for a mid-size city,” the “Freeways without Futures” report says.

The 8664 campaign isn’t currently active, said Tyler Allen, who co-founded the movement with J.C. Stites in the mid-2000s. Allen, a businessman and former Louisville mayoral candidate, said they didn’t ask for I-64 to be put on the list.

“We still believe the highway should not be there, and our riverfront would be enhanced by its removal,” Allen said.

The list released Wednesday also includes interstates and highways in Oakland, Calif.; Buffalo, N.Y., Dallas; Portland, Ore.; among other cities.

Asked whether there are plans to revive 8664, Allen said, “We have not contemplated doing that or done anything yet.” But, he added, I-64 appearing on the national list “might mean that we need to do something.”