Jeffersonville mayor offers 3 changes for plan to reduce lanes on 2nd Street Bridge

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore offered three suggestions Friday for Kentucky's plan to permanently reduce lanes on the 2nd Street Bridge over the Ohio River, admitting state officials have a "difficult task" to keep the bridge viable long-term.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to reduce the 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.

Tolls began on the nearby I-65 bridges and the upriver Lewis and Clark Bridge in late 2016. 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.

"Jeffersonville can be your best next door neighbor, but don't piss us off and that's what this is doing," Moore told WDRB on Friday. "That sure came across as one-sided, and if you're on the north side of the river, Jeffersonville just got screwed."

In a public letter post Friday on Facebook, Moore gave three recommendations to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet:

1. Reduce the price of crossing the three tolled bridges in the area, disincentivizing drivers from using the free 2nd Street Bridge

"This bridge has seen the traffic on it double in the years since tolling has been put into place on the other crossings, and this increase alone has no doubt created some of the safety concerns that we are seeing today," Moore said.

2. Restrict the ability for trucks to use the 2nd Street Bridge

"We recognize that this bridge is part of the U.S. Highway System, and that there may be regulations in place regarding the limiting of certain vehicles, and we also appreciate the fact that enforcement of this restriction may be difficult, but it’s evident when driving the bridge that semi-truck vehicles of the size in operation today were not intended for this bridge at the time it was constructed," Moore said.

3. Reverse the current plan, instead making the 2nd Street Bridge two southbound lanes and one northbound lane

"With the current two southbound lanes, traffic frequently backs up across the entire length of the bridge, often well into the Indiana approach," Moore said. "To think that the same amount of vehicles could be confined to one lane, with twice as long of a line of traffic, is a serious concern."

In summary, Moore said it's imperative for the project to be done correctly.

The bridge is considered "functionally obsolete" because its Depression-era design is outdated, meaning the bridge would be built differently if started anew today. It has no emergency lanes or shoulders.

It was rated in satisfactory condition during its last inspection in June 2022.