LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Get ready for a big construction project on Interstate 65 in Louisville.
According to a release from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the I-65 Corridor Rehab Project will run from downtown to the Watterson Expressway. The project is expected to cost $100 million, which was approved by the Kentucky General Assembly.
“We are making progress on a project in one of the most heavily traveled sections of interstate highway in all of Kentucky. It’s critical to many of our leading employers,” Gov. Beshear said in a statement. “It’s also a 60-year-old system that’s showing its age. It has numerous bridges that need rehabilitation. One of the objectives of this project will be to improve safety and fix deterioration, which in turn will prevent unplanned closures for repairs in years to come.”
The downtown Louisville "Central Corridor" is one of the most heavily traveled sections of interstate in Kentucky that services UPS, the University of Louisville, the Louisville Muhammad Ali Airport, the Kentucky Expo Center, the downtown hospitals and other major employers.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet selected Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. as the construction manager and general contractor. The company did a similar rehab of Interstate 40 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
With enough grant funding or future support from the legislature, the scope of the project could increase to include rehabilitation of 18 bridges, plus pavement repair, at an expected cost of $247 million.
Construction is expected to begin before June 2024.
Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said, "The project team will be looking for ways to shorten the overall construction schedule. It also will be investigating techniques called ‘accelerated bridge construction’ to reduce lane closures." He said the project hopes to minimize disruption to downtown businesses, employers and commuters during construction.
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