SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new Interstate 65 interchange in Bullitt County is starting to take shape, but it isn't making everyone who lives nearby happy.
The interchange was formally announced last December and construction has been ongoing since. The exit will be in Shepherdsville between exits 112 and 116. When first announced, officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the project would alleviate traffic concerns on Kentucky 480.
The $26 million project was first approved in 2016. It was framed as a way to bolster the growing Bullitt County economy and help ease congestion on KY 480.
“That's the part I guess I'm for,” Bullitt County resident Steve Phelps said. “The traffic on Cedar Grove Road, 480 is horrendous at times.”
But other aspects of the project, such as the amount of trees that have been cut, he doesn’t agree with.
“We realize growth is going to happen in our area. We only want to guide it with Bernheim, with Jim Beam, with Four Roses, for the tourism,” he said.
It’s just one of several major infrastructure projects under construction or in the planning phases in Bullitt County. LG&E has plans to build a gas pipeline through the county, much to the chagrin of Bernheim Forest and neighbors. KYTC also has plans on the books for a Louisville bypass that would also cut through much of the county.
“I've lived out here for 30 years and all of a sudden it's like it’s just exploded,” Phelps said. “Include us, we have ideas.”
Right now, the contractor for KYTC is working on grading and drainage for the connector roads on either side of the overpass. A section of Kentucky 61 will be closed for much of the summer in 2020 for construction of a new intersection there, according to KYTC Spokesperson Andrea Clifford.
The project is expected to be completed in November 2020.
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- SUNDAY EDITION | Proposed LG&E pipeline cuts through Bernheim land, raises neighbors’ concern
- Study weighs 15 routes for possible Louisville bypass
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