Drivers raise concerns about 2nd Street Bridge lane reduction plan

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Possible changes to the Clark Memorial Bridge are getting big reactions from those who travel it.

State officials plan to reduce the bridge, also known as the 2nd Street Bridge, from four lanes to three later this year.

Plans call for two northbound lanes into southern Indiana and just one lane into Louisville. The lanes would also get widened by 2.5 feet.

"Coming back on the north side doesn't make a lot of sense either because there's less travel coming back across the bridge in the afternoons," local driver Andre Jones Sr. said.

Local drivers said the northbound lanes should be reduced instead since traffic mainly gets backed up heading into Kentucky. Some even suggested a flex lane on the bridge.

"It'd probably be better to have a flex lane so you can move traffic from one way or the other depending on morning traffic, afternoon traffic, events going on in downtown Louisville," local driver Jay Conner said.

Before tolls were in place, reports show more than 120,000 cars crossed the Kennedy Bridge a day. After the tolls, the number dropped to 80,000. A lot of those cars have rerouted to the 2nd Street Bridge.

"There's a lot of people who actually can't afford to go across the pay bridge and so you're putting them in a bad situation as well," Jones said.

Mayor Craig Greenberg doesn't believe this is being done to get more people to use the toll bridges.

"It's all about safety, ensuring our roads are safe and our bridges are safe," he said. "That is why the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has made the decision to go in this direction. It's all about driver safety."

KYTC officials said the project is still in the planning and design phase, but they are hoping work on the bridge will begin sometime this year.