Crews report progress in 2nd week of I-65 project in Louisville

It's been 10 days since a five-mile stretch of the interstate between the Watterson Expressway and Jefferson Street downtown shut down for the I-65 Central Corridor Project.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Halfway through the second week of the Interstate 65 shutdown through Louisville, construction crews said they're making a lot of progress.

It's been 10 days since a five-mile stretch of the interstate between the Watterson Expressway and Jefferson Street downtown shut down for the I-65 Central Corridor Project.

Crews are replacing three aging overpasses. Right now, they're about 90% done removing the decks on the CSX bridge and the Brook Street overpass. The Bradley Avenue overpass was already removed and is ready to be resurfaced to add two new lanes.

"Moving forward, we have a little more demolition to be done but that should be done by the beginning of next week, and so more of the building process will take place as opposed to the demolition," said Matt Bullock, chief engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's fifth district. "From a traffic standpoint, we cannot be more pleased with how it's run over the last week and-a-half."

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KYTC said the loud noise from jackhammering should wrap up by next week. Then, crews will begin bringing in rocks. Concrete trucks and cranes will also come in to move and set beams.

A portion of the southbound stretch — between University Boulevard and the Watterson Expressway — is set to reopen July 1. But traffic in both directions isn't scheduled to reopen until Aug. 1. At that point, two lanes will be back open in each direction until the expected full reopening in late 2027.

For everything you need to know about the project, including a timeline and detours, click here.